sufferer cannot raise his head to look forward. The worst cases result in a
vulture’s posture; I’ve seen patients who were forced to walk backward to
see where they were walking, similar to the gaze of a jockey looking over
his shoulder. Bob Kerlan battled ankylosing spondylitis (AS) his entire
professional life, and yet famously maintained his good humor and
positive outlook.
Because AS is an inflammatory condition, the treatment requires anti-
inflammatory medications, along with physical therapy and exercise. The
most commonly used anti-inflammatory in the 1960s was Butazolidin,
known around racetracks as “Bute.” In a 1969 Sports Illustrated article,
Dr. Kerlan described the use of Bute on Elgin Baylor, Jerry West, Wilt
Chamberlain, and racehorse jockeys. Bob Kerlan, himself, was taking Bute
and aspirin by the handful, and had another famous Southern Californian
taking Butazolidin as well: Sandy Koufax.
Dr. Kerlan continued operating for a decade and a half, but by the early
1970s, his disability was so severe it left him unable to safely navigate the
operating room and to manipulate surgical tools, eventually forcing a
reluctant submission to his jailer. Undaunted, he persisted in his care of
the Dodgers, the Lakers (who had arrived in 1960), the Rams, the Kings,
and the jockeys at Hollywood Park. And all the while he cultivated
friendships with Hollywood actors like Walter Matthau and Danny Kaye,
and the giants of sports from Willie Shoemaker to Wilt Chamberlain.
Watching him soldier on, no one bothered complaining to Dr. Kerlan about
their aches and pains. In a 1969 Sports Illustrated article, Sandy Koufax
said, “His own physical problems are far more serious than most of those
he treats, and yet he is always having a good time—telling jokes, kidding
people, and getting kidded in return. I always liked him as a doctor, but
more than that I liked him as a man.”
Overwhelmed in his unique practice, Bob Kerlan sought the help of a
partner. Before the orthopedic surgery community authentically
recognized sports medicine as a specialty, in 1965, Dr. Kerlan was able to
recruit a genuine and honest young man originally from the small town of
Boone, North Carolina—Frank Jobe.
Although he would dramatically change sports by co-creating sports
medicine, Dr. Jobe was never particularly athletic, telling me in response
to a query about his own baseball prowess, “I was never a very good
ballplayer. I realized later that my talents lay elsewhere.” Dr. Frank Jobe
marcin
(Marcin)
#1