Baseball legend Tommy John, the star pitcher whose name became forever linked to one of the most famous surgeries in sports, has died at 83.

John spent an incredible 26 seasons in the major leagues, becoming best known for his years with the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers while piling up 288 career victories.

But his impact on baseball stretched far beyond anything he accomplished on the mound.

John became part of medical history in 1974 after suffering what was then considered a potentially career-ending injury to the ulnar collateral ligament in his left elbow.

At the time, many believed his pitching days could be over.

Instead, Dodgers team doctor Frank Jobe attempted a groundbreaking operation that had never before been performed on a major league pitcher. Jobe reconstructed the damaged ligament using a tendon taken from another part of John’s body.

The procedure worked.

John made a remarkable comeback and returned to pitching at a high level, turning the experimental operation into what would eventually become known around the sports world simply as “Tommy John surgery.”

The procedure has since saved the careers of countless professional pitchers and become one of the most recognizable operations in all of sports medicine.

Just days before his death, John appeared at Yankee Stadium for Old-Timers’ Day on Aug. 8, where he reflected on the doctor who gave his career a second life.

John said Jobe “saved my arm and made it possible for me to continue pitching.”

“That surgery has since gone on to save the careers of countless pitchers, including many of the very best in the game today,” he added.

John’s comeback was especially remarkable considering there was no guarantee the revolutionary surgery would work.

He went on to pitch for years after the operation, ultimately building one of baseball’s longest careers and becoming a familiar face to generations of Yankees and Dodgers fans.

John had previously been diagnosed with bladder cancer.

He is survived by his second wife, Cheryl, his sons Tommy III and Travis, and his daughter, Tamara Mannelly.

While John will be remembered as one of baseball’s most durable pitchers, his name is likely to live on even longer because of the medical breakthrough that changed the sport forever.