Tommy John entered professional baseball with quite a reputation in Terre Haute, Indiana. At Gerstmeyer High School, the multi-sport star ran track and cross country while dominating the basketball court. He even set Terre Haute’s single-game scoring record and drew recruiting interest from college programs, including Kentucky.

Baseball, though, always felt like John’s ticket. As Gerstmeyer’s 1961 valedictorian, he won 28 of 30 decisions on the mound. Just days after graduation, on June 12, John accepted the Cleveland Indians’ offer to begin his professional career. He had turned 18 only a month earlier.

Shown here is a career questionnaire from that remarkable moment. John completed the entire document in his own hand on July 14, 1961. The answers capture an ambitious teenager barely a month into life as a professional ballplayer.

Asked to recount his high school accomplishments, John ticked off his successes before adding one especially memorable feat. He had set an American Legion record by striking out 21 against the inmate baseball team at the Federal Penitentiary.

Then came the most revealing question: What did John want from baseball? His answer left no doubt: “PLAY ON WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP CLUB + BE SELECTED TO ALL-STAR TEAM.”

John eventually fulfilled the All-Star portion four times, in 1968, 1978, 1979 and 1980. He reached the postseason in five seasons, played in nine playoff series and won three pennants. A World Series championship, however, remained just beyond his reach.

Handwritten documents from John’s first month in professional baseball rarely surface. This one captures the future star before the legend had begun.

By the time Tommy John signed this contract on March 12, 1969 he was already an All Star and the winning pitcher in 50 Major League games. The contract guarantees John a penny per ball sold as long as he was in the big leagues.

In 1974 he was off to his finest start, going 13-3 with a 2.59 ERA. Then he tore his ulnar collateral ligament. Previously the injury was career-ending. Instead John agreed to be a guinea pig for a pioneering procedure by surgeon Dr. Frank Jobe.

The left-hander sat out the rest of the season and all of 1975. The rehab was grueling. When he returned he was better than before. From 1977-1980, John averaged 20 wins and received votes in Cy Young balloting each season. He played in three All Star games  and two World Series.

John pitched a total of 26 seasons in the show winning 288 contests. Because of his high win total and perhaps because of his role in the surgery that now bears his name, John remains a strong candidate for the Hall of Fame.

The experimental operation Dr. Frank Jobe pioneered on Tommy’s John’s elbow was revolutionary. The procedure is a surgical graft where the ulnar collateral ligament is replaced with a tendon either from another part of the patient’s body or from a cadaver.

When Jobe approached the pitcher with the possibility of trying it, John felt he had little choice. Previously the career of a pitcher with UCL tear was over. The left-hander agreed to it and together, John and Jobe revolutionized the game.

Jobe waited until two years after the experiment to perform it again. Today it’s a routine procedure that has saved countless pitching careers. The Dodgers so valued Jobe that they made him a special advisor to the team. The surgeon held the position until his death in 2014.

Jobe was also honored during Hall of Fame weekend on July 27, 2013. Jeff Idelson, the Hall of Fame president said Jobe’s work is a testament to the positive role of medicine in baseball’s growth. Tommy John attended, praising Jobe by saying, “I think there should be a medical wing in the Hall of Fame, starting with him.”

In the collection is this autographed photo of the visionary doctor who created and performed the first Tommy John surgery.

Tommy John spent the entire 1975 season recovering from the revolutionary surgery that saved his career. With his baseball future uncertain, John attacked his rehabilitation and returned to form.

He won 10 games in 1976, then broke through with a 20-win season for the National League champion Dodgers in 1977. John earned his first All-Star selection since 1968 the following year, though he never entered the game.

After signing with the Yankees, John made another All-Star team in 1979. Once again, he watched from the bullpen without appearing. The following summer brought his third straight selection and a return to familiar surroundings.

Dodger Stadium had served as John’s home from 1972 through 1978. In 1980, he entered the All-Star Game there in the fourth inning with the National League leading 2-0. John formed the battery with Red Sox catcher Carlton Fisk and retired the side in order.

The fifth inning brought a dramatic matchup against Cincinnati’s Ken Griffey. Griffey launched a solo homer off John, cutting the lead to 2-1. Trouble arrived again in the sixth after John retired former Dodgers teammate Bill Russell. Three straight singles followed, chasing John from the game. Two of his runners scored, saddling John with the loss.

John finished his final All-Star appearance with 2⅓ innings, four hits, and three runs allowed. Shown here is a ticket from that game, signed by Fisk, who caught John during his final All-Star outing.

Dr. Frank Jobe again signs his name to a 5×7 photo, this image of Jobe being honored before a Spring Training game. Jobe was both admired and respected for the surgery that he pioneered. Many believe that he deserves a spot in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

At the time of Jobe’s death, Commissioner Bud Selig said, “I was deeply saddened to learn of the loss of Dr. Frank Jobe, a great gentleman whose work in baseball revolutionized sports medicine. Since 1974, his groundbreaking Tommy John surgery has revitalized countless careers, especially those of our pitchers.

After returning from Dr. Frank Jobe‘s experimental surgery, Tommy John began the most effective part of his career. In his first season back, the pitcher posted ten victories, six complete games, and two shutouts. Then in 1977 he won 20 games for the first time.

TJ pitched his Dodger team to the World Series where they dropped to Reggie Jackson and the Yankees. He finished second in Cy Young balloting. The following season he won 17 and the Dodgers won their second consecutive pennant. Los Angeles again faced the Yankees and again lost.

In November of ’78, TJ signed with the two-time defending champion Yankees. He made the All Star team in consecutive seasons, winning a combined 43 games in ’79, and ’80.

In 1981 the Dodgers and Yankees again squared off in the Fall Classic. John again played for the losing side as his former team vanquished New York 4 games to 2.

In the collection is the lineup card from Game 2 of the 1981 World Series signed by the Yankee skipper. Tommy John was on the hill that day and twirled seven scoreless innings to earn the win. New York went on top of the Dodgers 2 games to none in the best of seven series.

The card is signed by Hall of Fame pitcher and 1981 Yankees manager Bob Lemon.

Los Angeles won the next four games to capture its first World Series championship since 1965.