Tommy John recalls his MLB pitching career at Lakewood Ranch Elks Lodge

When a Lakewood Ranch Elks Lodge member asked retired Major League Baseball pitcher Tommy John about a 1968 fight between him and fellow player Dick McAuliffe, John remembered the fight as if it were yesterday.

He was pitching for the Chicago White Sox at the time in a game against the Detroit Tigers.

McAuliffe, the Tigers' second baseman, stepped up to bat. John said he was ahead in the count with two strikes.

After a ball, the fourth pitch was a doozy. McAuliffe thought John tried to hit him with the pitch and charged the mound. Both teams emptied the dugouts and scuffled.

Dozens of Lakewood Ranch Elks Lodge members listened as John continued his story and shared others during the lodge's fundraiser for Southeastern Guide Dogs' Paws for Patriots program April 9.

John said his pitch wouldn't have hit the Elk, mounted high on the lodge's wall, in the head, let alone McAuliffe. 

"That's how high it was," John said.

"I go, 'Now what's the easiest way I can get out of this?'" John said. "I thought, 'I’ll do a rolling block into him, take him down on the ground, and then everybody piles on, and it's over.' When I went down like that, he drove his knee into my shoulder and separated my left shoulder. Now I'm on the ground and writhing in pain. That was it, and I was out for the rest of the year."

After the game that night, John was flown to a hospital in Chicago, where he received a phone call. 

“Worst tackle ever,” the caller told him.

“Who is this?” asked John.

The caller turned out to be Bill George, a Hall of Fame linebacker with the Chicago Bears.

John, who is now 78 and lives in Sarasota, shared several stories about his days on the pitcher's mound during his 26 seasons playing for six MLB teams. 

The famous pitcher, known for being the first person to undergo a surgery on an ulnar collateral ligament in the elbow in 1974, said the surgery and a balance of perseverance and rest kept him in the game. The surgery was later named the Tommy John Surgery. 

"I wanted to pitch," John said. "It was a job. I got paid very well, and I enjoyed it. I loved pitching. My thinking was I'll pitch as long as I can. Whatever I had to do, I would do it. I threw six days a week. I took Sunday off. I figured if God rested on Sunday, so should Tommy John."

Since 1999, 235 Major League Baseball players have undergone the procedure, according to a 2016 study in the Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery.

John said the cast from his surgery has found a home in the Smithsonian after he donated it, which garnered numerous signatures from famous people, to be displayed.

One of the signatures is from Danny Murtaugh, the manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers when John was a player for the team in 1974. 

John said that after his surgery, he wanted to "sit on the bench and be with the guys" during a game, but he needed Murtaugh's permission. 

Murtaugh said, “I'll let you sit on the bench only one way: You’ve got to let me sign the cast.”

Murtaugh became the first signature on the cast, followed by all of the 1974 Dodgers, manager Tommy Lasorda and sportscaster Vin Scully.

Elks Lodge member William Caprio loved hearing from a baseball player he admired. 

"I was very appreciative of him and what he did for the Yankees," Caprio said. “Stand-up guy, very professional, all of what you want in a ballplayer. Very good."

John signed baseballs to be part of a prize raffle with the money raised going to the Southeastern Guide Dogs' Paws for Patriots program, which provides service animals to veterans in need.

"You're raising money for a great, great cause," John said.

One of the Lakewood Ranch Elks Lodge's focuses is helping veterans. 

"The Elks have traditionally always helped veterans," said Tara's Frank Iannello, a Loyal Knight at the lodge. "We've seen firsthand how these dogs change the lives of these veterans. They can function in society, and they know they always have a companion that will protect them and support them."

Sean Brown, an associate director of philanthropy for Southeastern Guide Dogs and owner of a service dog, said the money raised at the fundraiser would help the nonprofit provide service dogs to veterans. 

Brown, a veteran of the war in Afghanistan and Iraq, said he was taking 16 pills per day before he received his service dog, Pella, from the nonprofit in 2018.

"I needed that connection," Brown said about his relationship with Pella. "I had to have an animal from the best. And ladies and gentleman, not just because I'm an employee, Southeastern Guide Dogs is the best."