Welcome back to our 30 for 30 documentary short series.
The latest film is Tommy and Frank, by award-winning writer and director Richie Keen. In 1974, lefty pitcher Tommy John had 124 major league wins under his belt, and at 31 years old his career seemed far from over. But a nagging pain in his pitching arm sent him to the bench for what many thought would be forever. Refusing to accept that, John met with Dr. Frank Jobe, an unassuming orthopedic surgeon who, with some encouragement from his patient, conceived and performed a revolutionary elbow operation called ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction — or, as it’s better known today, Tommy John surgery. This film follows not only the success of John’s post-surgery career, but the close relationship he has kept with Dr. Jobe. Both men will be honored at the National Baseball Hall of Fame on July 27 for their contributions to the game.
Previously:
• Cutthroat, directed by Steven Cantor »
• Silver Reunion, directed by Rory Karpf »
• Holy Grail: The T206 Honus Wagner, directed by Nick and Colin Barnicle »
• Disdain the Mundane, directed by Nelson George »
• Ali: The Mission, directed by Amani Martin »
• The Arnold Palmer, directed by Bryan Gordon »
• Jake, directed by Jonathan Hock »
• Arnold’s Blueprint, directed by Michael and Jeff Zimbalist »
• Here Now, directed by Eric Drath »