Dave Dravecky
A baseball pitcher whose courageous comeback from cancer and subsequent amputation made him a symbol of resilience far beyond the sport.
Born 1956 (age 70)·American baseball player·Birthday: February 14·Baby Boomers
Biography
Dave Dravecky’s story is one of soaring athletic promise met with profound physical trial. The left-hander from Ohio became an All-Star for the San Diego Padres, known for his deceptive delivery and helping the team to its first National League pennant in 1984. Traded to the San Francisco Giants, he was a key starter until a hard lump in his pitching arm was diagnosed as a desmoid tumor. After surgery that removed half of his deltoid muscle, his comeback in 1989 became a national story of hope; he pitched a win against the Cincinnati Reds. Five days later, in Montreal, his arm snapped during a pitch, a gruesome fracture that ended his career. The cancer returned, leading to the amputation of his arm and shoulder. Dravecky channeled his ordeal into a new vocation, becoming a motivational speaker and author who offers a raw, faith-informed perspective on suffering and perseverance.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Dave was born in 1956, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Dave Was Born
The biggest hits of 1956
#1 Movie
The Ten Commandments
Best Picture
Around the World in 80 Days
#1 TV Show
I Love Lucy
Dave's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1956Born
Elvis Presley appears on The Ed Sullivan Show
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $10,050Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Heartbreak Hotel" — Elvis PresleyBest Picture: Around the World in 80 Days
1961Started school
Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human in space
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $12,500Min wage: $1.15/hrPresident: John F. Kennedy"Tossin' and Turnin'" — Bobby LewisBest Picture: West Side Story
1969Became a teenager
Apollo 11: humans walk on the Moon; Woodstock festival
Gas: $0.35/galHome: $15,550Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Sugar, Sugar" — The ArchiesBest Picture: Midnight Cowboy
1972Could drive
Watergate break-in; last Apollo Moon mission
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $19,550Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" — Roberta FlackBest Picture: The Godfather
1974Could vote
Nixon resigns the presidency
Gas: $0.53/galHome: $22,600Min wage: $2.00/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"The Way We Were" — Barbra StreisandBest Picture: The Godfather Part II
1977Turned 21
Star Wars premieres; Elvis dies
Gas: $0.62/galHome: $31,800Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Tonight's the Night" — Rod StewartBest Picture: Annie Hall
1986Turned 30
Challenger disaster; Chernobyl nuclear meltdown
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $66,600Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"That's What Friends Are For" — Dionne & FriendsBest Picture: Platoon
1996Turned 40
Dolly the sheep cloned
Gas: $1.23/galHome: $99,700Min wage: $4.75/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Macarena" — Los del RioBest Picture: The English Patient
2006Turned 50
Twitter launches; Pluto reclassified as dwarf planet
Gas: $2.59/galHome: $174,700Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Bad Day" — Daniel PowterBest Picture: The Departed
2016Turned 60
Donald Trump elected president; Brexit vote
Gas: $2.14/galHome: $181,700Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Love Yourself" — Justin BieberBest Picture: Moonlight
2026Turned 70
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Pitched a complete-game shutout in his dramatic comeback start for the San Francisco Giants on August 10, 1989, after cancer surgery.
- Was named a National League All-Star in 1983 as a member of the San Diego Padres.
- Started Game 2 of the 1984 World Series for the Padres against the Detroit Tigers.
- Authored the bestselling book 'Comeback' detailing his battle with cancer and his brief return to baseball.
Did You Know?
The baseball from his final, fateful pitch in Montreal is displayed in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
He and his wife, Jan, founded 'Outreach of Hope,' a ministry supporting people facing cancer and amputation.
His cancer was a rare desmoid tumor, not typical baseball-related arm damage.
“You can’t always control what happens to you, but you can control how you respond.”
