Happy Saturday!

August 15, 1989.

One of the most frightening moments in baseball history.

Montreal’s Olympic Stadium.

San Francisco Giants and the Expos.

On the mound: Giants left-hander Dave Dravecky.

Just five days earlier, he had made an emotional return following surgery.

This was his second start back.

6th inning.

He went into the windup and delivered the pitch.

Suddenly…he collapsed.

Watch Dravecky collapse

Dravecky was on the ground, writhing in pain, as teammates raced to help him.

He had broken his arm.

The sound of the break echoed through the stadium “like a firecracker,” leaving fans and players stunned.

Ten months earlier, doctors had removed a cancerous tumor from Dravecky’s pitching arm.

On August 10, 1989, he returned, pitching eight innings to beat Cincinnati.

Doctors had told the lefty he would never pitch again.

He was back.

Then.
Five days later.
Montreal.

Eight weeks later.

The Giants clinched the National League pennant, earning a trip to the World Series.

As Dravecky ran onto the field to celebrate, he was accidentally bumped and…broke the same arm again.

At a follow-up exam the next month, doctors discovered the cancer had returned.

By the spring of 1990, Dravecky’s story had reached the White House.
President George H. W. Bush presented him with the Cancer Courage Award.

The cancer was back.
This time, doctors couldn’t stop it.

By 1991, Dravecky had endured more surgeries, infection, and pain.
He made the agonizing decision to have his left arm and shoulder amputated.

Dave Dravecky was in crisis.

Clinical depression took hold. It turned into anger, and the anger spilled into his marriage.

The fight was no longer about getting back on the mound.

It was about making it through the day.

Finally, Dave and Jan realized they couldn’t face it alone. They entered counseling.

There, Dave began to understand what was beneath the anger: fear and insecurity.

Without baseball—and without his left arm—how would he provide for his family?

For the first time, he admitted he was scared.

Counseling didn’t erase the pain. It helped Dave and Jan find their way back to each other.

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After the amputation, the Draveckys received thousands of letters.

From people battling cancer.

Families facing loss.

Others learning to live after amputation.

As Dave and Jan read those letters, they began to see their own suffering differently.

What had happened to them could help someone else.

They founded Endurance, a nonprofit ministry offering faith-based encouragement and resources to people facing cancer, illness, depression, grief, and loss.

It’s been more than 37 years since that night in Montreal.

The crack heard round the world.

Dravecky says that as he lay on the turf, he realized something much bigger than baseball was happening.

At the time, he had no idea where it would lead.

Today, he travels the country sharing what he has learned about loss, suffering, fear—and hope.

Hear Dave tell his story in his own words.

More than three decades later, Endurance is still helping families through some of life’s hardest moments.

Dave and Jan live in Arizona, close to their children and four grandchildren.

Dave has written three books about his journey:

Comeback
When You Can’t Come Back
The Worth of a Man

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The game that once defined him is still part of his life.

Dravecky, who calls himself the “One-Armed Bandit,” works as a community ambassador for the Giants.