ASES Foundation

Frank W. Jobe, MD

Past President of ASES: 1984-1985 Dr. Frank Jobe was born in Greensboro, North Carolina, and at the age of 18 joined the US Army and served in World War II from 1943-1946. He received his Medical Degree from Loma Linda University in Loma Linda, CA, in 1956 and completed his Internship and orthopaedic residency at the Los Angeles County Hospital.

In 1964, Dr. Jobe and his associate Robert K. Kerlan, MD, co-founded the Kerlan Jobe Clinic in Los Angeles, CA. In 1973, the two established the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic Sports Medicine Fellowship Program through which Dr. Jobe subsequently trained hundreds of orthopaedic residents and sports medicine fellows over the ensuing decades. In 1978, Dr. Jobe founded Centinela Hospital Medical Center’s Biomechanics Laboratory and served as Medical Director. He also is Clinical Professor, Department of Orthopaedics, University of Southern California, Keck School of Medicine in Los Angeles.

Dr. Jobe was internationally recognized for his research and practice in orthopaedic surgery and sports medicine. He saved and extended the careers of many amateur and professional athletes. The “Tommy John” procedure is routine today, but the technique had never been attempted in 1974 when he used it to repair the pitcher’s torn ulnar collateral ligament. It worked and triggered a sports medicine revolution. He also developed a muscle splitting approach for repairing anterior instability of the shoulder, which subsequently has been used successfully on many baseball pitchers.

Dr. Jobe was a noted educator who has given numerous lectures on orthopaedic and sports related topics throughout his career. He authored more than 140 medical publications, 30 book chapters, and 7 books. He received many awards and honors including the O’Donoghue Award in 1984, the Charles S. Neer Award in 1987, the Alonzo Neufeld award in 1991, the AOSSM Mr. Sports Medicine Award in 1996, and an Honorary Doctoral Degree from the University of Tokushima, Japan in 1998. Dr. Jobe was also inducted into the AOSSM Hall of Fame in 2003.

Dr. Jobe served as the team physician for the Los Angeles Dodgers for 40 years remaining on their medical staff until 2008. At the time of his death, he was a special advisor to the chairman of the Dodger organization. He had also been the orthopedic consultant for professional golf’s PGA and Champions Tours for 26 years and named the emeritus physician for the PGA Tour.

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