On Thursday, the Dodgers announced the passing of Dr. Frank Jobe at the age of 88. Jobe was a true pioneer in the field of sports medicine and served as the Dodgers' team physician for many years. Jobe is of course most famous for in 1974 performing the first Tommy John surgery -- on, of course, Tommy John -- and in doing so changing the course of pitching history in very real way ... 

John, through the team, released the following statement following the news of Jobe's death:

While Jobe is not a Hall of Famer, the Hall did honor him during induction weekend last year. If the standard is positive impact upon the game of baseball, though, then Dr. Jobe without question should've been inducted long ago. To count the number of pitchers who owe their careers and livelihood to this great physician is beyond our means. To say the least, baseball has lost a true legend.  

In addition to his incalculable contributions to baseball, Dr. Jobe also served as an army medic in World War II, even landing at Normandy and providing care to the members of 101st Airborne during the Battle of the Bulge. Because of those experiences, Jobe decided that he wanted to "help people heal" as his life's work.

As so many in baseball have learned, that's exactly what he did.