LOS ANGELES -- Dr. Frank Jobe, a pioneering orthopedic surgeon who was the first to perform an elbow procedure that became known as Tommy John surgery and saved the careers of countless major league pitchers, died Thursday. He was 88. Jobe died in Santa Monica after being hospitalized recently with an undisclosed illness, according to a spokesman for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Jobe performed groundbreaking elbow surgery on John, a Dodgers pitcher who had a ruptured medial collateral ligament in his left elbow. The injury previously had no solution until Jobe removed a tendon from Johns forearm and repaired his elbow. John went on to pitch 14 years after the operation on Sept. 25, 1974, compiling 164 more victories without ever missing a start because of an elbow problem. "Today I lost a GREAT friend," John tweeted. Last year, the initial surgery and the relationship between John and Jobe was the subject of an ESPN documentary. "When he did come back, I thought maybe we could do it on somebody else," Jobe told The Associated Press in 2010. "I waited two years to try it on somebody else, but we had no idea we could do it again." Jobe initially estimated Johns chances of returning to the majors at less than 5 per cent. He later said 92 to 95 per cent of patients return as good, if not better, than before the surgery. The surgery has since become common practice for pitchers and players at every level of baseball, including New York Mets pitcher Matt Harvey, Washington star Stephen Strasburg, San Franciscos Tim Hudson and Minnesotas Francisco Liriano. Some pitchers have signed multiyear contracts just months after they have the surgery in expectation of a high-level return. Typically, full rehabilitation takes about a year for pitchers and about six months for position players. The procedure initially required four hours; now it takes about an hour. "I had no idea it would do this," Jobe told the AP. "It startles me even today that it has done that. The doctors are recognizing the condition early enough to fix it and they are learning how to do the surgery so well. They rehab it so not just the arm, but the whole body gets better." Jobe believed the advancements would continue. "You never want to say in medicine this is the end. Youre always coming up with something a little bit different," he said. "Even with Tommy John, theres people doing things slightly different. In their minds theyre getting better." Jobe had served the Dodgers organization for 50 years, most recently as special adviser to the chairman. The courtly Southerner attended the teams games as recently as last season, with someone on either arm escorting him. Sixteen years after saving Johns career, Jobe reconstructed the right shoulder of former Cy Young Award winner Orel Hershiser, another procedure that had never been successfully performed on a major league pitcher. "He change my life!! Gave me back my career!!" tweeted Hershiser, a former Dodgers great. "I will miss him and I am eternally grateful!!!" Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig saluted Jobe for revolutionizing sports medicine. "His wisdom elevated not only the Dodgers, the franchise he served proudly for a half-century, but all of our clubs," Selig said in a statement. "Dr. Jobes expertise, as well as his enthusiasm to mentor his peers, made the national pastime stronger." Since 1974, Jobe had performed hundreds of Tommy John surgeries on pitchers. Jobe co-founded the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopedic Clinic along with the late Dr. Robert Kerlan in 1965. They supervised the medical treatment for the Dodgers and Angels, Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Rams, the Los Angeles Kings, and Anaheim Ducks, as well as other pro and amateur athletes around the country. "His dedication and professionalism in not only helping the Dodgers, but athletes around the world is unparalleled," Dodgers president Stan Kasten said. "He was a medical giant and pioneer and many athletes in the past and the future can always thank Frank for finding a way to continue their careers." Jobe had also been the orthopedic consultant for the PGA Tour for more than 25 years. Last July, the Baseball Hall of Fame honoured Jobe during its induction weekend in Cooperstown, N.Y., with John in attendance. Born in Greensboro, N.C., in 1925, Jobe joined Army at 18 and served as a medical staff sergeant in the Armys 101st Airborne Division during World War II. After the war, Jobe completed his undergraduate degree at La Sierra University and went on to attend medical school at Loma Linda University. After serving a residency at Los Angeles County Hospital, Jobe teamed with Kerlan to specialize in the new field of sports medicine. Jobe is survived by wife Beverly, sons Christopher, Meredith, Cameron and Blair, and eight grandchildren. The family said plans for a memorial were pending. Wholesale Authentic Jerseys . 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Custom Jerseys China .com) - Blake Griffin led five Clippers in double figures with 24 points and the LA Clippers got back on track with a 101-97 win over the Utah Jazz.VANCOUVER -- The Vancouver Canucks were just over a minute away from celebrating a hard-earned victory Thursday. They were instead left to ponder what went wrong against an opponent that almost always has their number. Tomas Hertl tied the score on a broken play with 65 seconds left in regulation and Dan Boyle won it on the power play at 2:38 of overtime as the San Jose Sharks stormed back to stun the Canucks 2-1. Vancouver had killed 28 straight power plays until Boyle beat Roberto Luongo with a shot that needed video review. "It sucks," said Canucks defenceman Kevin Bieksa, who scored his first of the season for Vancouver. "Sometimes youre on the wrong end of these kind of games. "Getting a point is a positive against the top teams but two points was right there. Its early in the season. You dont want to get too down on yourself, but we deserved those two points." The Sharks have now won 10 of their last 11 against the Canucks. Vancouver led late in the third period until Boyles flubbed shot from the point found its way to Hertl at the side of the goal. The Czech teenager buried his chance past a helpless Luongo for his 11th of the season, which leads all rookies. Canucks captain Henrik Sedin was then whistled for hooking in overtime and the Sharks power play clicked. "We played a great game. I thought they got a really lucky break on their tying goal and they get a power play in OT and thats it," said Luongo, who finished with 28 saves. "Thats how close the NHL is. Were a minute away from playing, what I thought was a really great game, and all of a sudden it turns into a loss." Antti Niemi made 34 saves for the Sharks (12-2-5), who came in having dropped five of their last six and were outplayed for long stretches on Thursday. "This becomes the game you hear hockey people talk about the hockey gods, where it starts to even out," said Sharks head coach Todd McLellan. "We werent the better team tonight and we have been on the other end of that where we were the better team and found a way not to win it. Tonight we found a way to come back." In a scheduling quirk, Thursdays game was the final regular-season meeting between the Canucks (11-7-3) and Sharks in 2013-14, with San Jose winning three and losing one. "Its a kick in the teeth to lose it but looking at the big picture and some of the things we did against a pretty good hockey club, thats what we are going to take out of this," said Canucks coach John Tortorella. "We played a really good game right on through." Bieksa broke the scoreless tie on the power play at 13:40 of the second period when his shot from the point found its way through traffic past Niemi. Canucks forward Alexandre Burrows missed a glorious chance moments earlier before Henrik Sedin fed Bieksa for the one-timer.dddddddddddd The goal snapped a 2-for-28 drought for Vancouver with the man advantage and was just the Canucks third power-play goal at Rogers Arena all season. Niemi kept the Canucks from doubling their lead with a big stop on Ryan Kesler with five minutes to go in the period. Canucks forward Chris Higgins had a chance off the rush early in the third that Niemi was equal to before the Sharks, who had just 17 shots through two periods, started to come on. After Henrik Sedin missed a wide-open net off a feed from his brother Daniel Sedin, Luongo made a big glove save on San Jose forward James Sheppard with under eight minutes to go. "Were trying to find ways," said Boyle. "Thats what its all about and in this league with the extra points they are giving now its just going to come down to the end of the year and you never know which extra point is going to solidify your playoff position or have you on the outside." The Canucks returned home Thursday after a 1-2-1 road trip against Pacific Division rivals, with the only victory coming in 4-2 decision over the Sharks on Nov. 7. Playing their first home game since a 4-0 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Nov. 2, the Canucks had a couple of early chances in a first period that was short on action. Niemi stopped Canucks defenceman Chris Tanev on a chance in the high slot five minutes in before shooting out his left pad to stop Mike Santorelli on the doorstep a few moments later. Vancouvers No. 1-ranked penalty kill was put to the test midway through the period when defenceman Alexander Edler was whistled for interference. The Sharks moved the puck around to Joe Thornton, but the San Jose captains heavy shot from the top of the faceoff circle rang off the crossbar behind Luongo and stayed out. "Youre not going to win every game you play great and sometimes you dont deserve to win and youre going to win," said Luongo. "Thats the way the NHL is. I think the main thing is we cant put our heads down." Notes: The Canucks power play entered the night ranked 28th overall. ... NHL legend Gordie Howe was in attendance and got an ovation midway through the second period. ... Vancouvers victory in San Jose last week snapped a nine-game losing streak against the Sharks dating back to last season. ... The Sharks swept the Canucks four straight in the first round of last seasons playoffs, while Vancouver got the better of San Jose in five games in the 2011 Western Conference final. ... Vancouver left-winger David Booth returned to the lineup after completing a conditioning assignment in the American Hockey League. ... The Sharks are in action Friday night against the Oilers in Edmonton. ... The Canucks continue their season-high six-game homestand Sunday against the visiting Dallas Stars. ' ' '