r/sportsdose

John broke in with Cleveland as a 20-year-old in 1963 and made his last appearance for the Yankees at age 46 in 1989, also pitching for the White Sox, Dodgers, Angels, and Athletics. The left-hander won 288 games, made 4 All-Star teams and anchored 3 pennant-winning teams, while twice finishing as a runner-up for the Cy Young Award. His 700 games started rank 8th on the all-time list.

After John injured his elbow in 1974, he received the first ulnar collateral ligament replacement surgery from Dr. Frank Jobe. John returned to pitch in 1976, then won 20 games three times in four years from 1977-80.

He would go on to pitch 14 of his 26 seasons after the procedure that is now known as Tommy John Surgery, a measure that has helped extend pitching careers in the more than half a century since it was first performed.

He was 83.

5. Tank Dell – Catastrophic multi-ligament knee injury following a knee dislocation.

4. Lindsey Vonn – Torn ACL, torn MCL, lateral meniscus tear, and a tibial plateau fracture after a high-speed crash.

3. Willis McGahee – Tore his ACL, PCL, and MCL with severe damage to the knee capsule and cartilage during the 2003 Fiesta Bowl.

2. Shaun Livingston – Torn ACL, PCL, lateral meniscus, dislocated patella, and extensive joint damage in one of the worst NBA injuries ever.

1. Zach Miller – Catastrophic knee dislocation with multiple torn ligaments and a torn popliteal artery that nearly cost him his leg.
Do you agree with this ranking? Is there an athlete I left off that deserves to be in the top five?