Robert K. Kerlan (May 13, 1922 – September 8, 1996) was an American

orthopedic surgeon Orthopedic surgery or orthopedics (American and British English spelling differences, alternative spelling orthopaedics) is the branch of surgery concerned with conditions involving the musculoskeletal system. Orthopedic surgeons use both surgic ...

and sports physician who, along with

Frank Jobe Frank Wilson Jobe (July 16, 1925 – March 6, 2014) was an American Orthopedic surgery, orthopedic surgeon and co-founder of the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic. Jobe pioneered both elbow ligament replacement and major reconstructive shoulde ...

, was co-founder of the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic. He treated numerous star athletes during his career and was regarded as a pioneer in the discipline of

sports medicine Sports medicine is a branch of medicine that deals with physical fitness and the treatment and prevention of injuries related to sports and exercise. Although most sports teams have employed team physicians for many years, it is only since the ...

Early life and education

Kerlan was born in

Aitkin, Minnesota Aitkin ( ) is a city and the county seat of Aitkin County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 2,168 at the 2020 census. History Before the establishment of City of Aitkin, a transient community of Lexington was located at the mout ...

and graduated from

Aitkin High School Aitkin High School (AHS) is a public high school in Aitkin, Minnesota, United States. The school serves students in grades Grade 7, 7–Grade 12, 12. The school enrolls approximately 600 students per year, with 400 students in the high sch ...

where he was a star athlete. Kerlan attended

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

where he started college as a basketball letterman, but eventually gave up playing. He completed his studies from the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

, graduating from the USC School of Medicine in 1948.

Career

He began his career by volunteering to be a team physician for schools and colleges in the

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

area. After the Dodgers from

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

and became the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

in 1958, he became their first team doctor. Kerlan went on to also become the team physician for other Los Angeles-based sports teams including the

Rams In engineering, reliability, availability, maintainability and safety (RAMS)Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

, and

Kings Kings or King's may refer to: *Kings: The sovereign heads of states and/or nations. *One of several works known as the "Book of Kings": **The Books of Kings part of the Bible, divided into two parts **The ''Shahnameh'', an 11th-century epic Persia ...

. Kerlan was the doctor who diagnosed Dodgers star pitcher

Sandy Koufax Sanford Koufax (; né Braun; born December 30, 1935), nicknamed "the Left Arm of God", is an American former baseball pitcher who played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Brooklyn Dodgers, Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers from 195 ...

with traumatic

arthritis Arthritis is a general medical term used to describe a disorder that affects joints. Symptoms generally include joint pain and stiffness. Other symptoms may include redness, warmth, Joint effusion, swelling, and decreased range of motion of ...

in his left elbow. Additionally, he also treated tennis star

Rod Laver Rodney George Laver (born 9 August 1938) is an Australian former professional tennis player. Laver was ranked as the World number 1 ranked male tennis players, world number 1 professional player indisputably for five years from 1965 to 1969, ...

, and basketball star

Elgin Baylor Elgin Gay Baylor ( ; September 16, 1934 – March 22, 2021) was an American professional basketball player, coach, and executive. He played 14 seasons as a forward in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Minneapolis/Los Angeles Lak ...

, amongst others. Kerlan remained active in his sports medicine practice despite a long-standing case of arthritis that required him to use crutches periodically for years, and permanently after 1977. He was also a clinical professor in the USC Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and later became founding member of the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine. In 1996, he was inducted into the

Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame The Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame, in Beverly Hills, California, is a hall of fame dedicated to honoring American Jews, American Jewish athletes, other sports personalities, and teams from Southern California who have distingui ...

Death

Kerlan died in

Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

at age 74 in 1996; he was survived by his wife Rachel and his three children. The cause of death was reported as

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

, after years of ill health. The day after his death, the

lowered the flags at

Dodger Stadium Dodger Stadium is a ballpark in the Elysian Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. It is the home of the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). Opened in 1962, it was constructed in less than three years at a ...

to half-mast and held a minute's silence in honor of Kerlan.

References

External links

History of the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kerlan, Robert 1922 births 1996 deaths 20th-century American surgeons American sports physicians American orthopedic surgeons Deaths from pneumonia in California Los Angeles Dodgers personnel Los Angeles Kings personnel Los Angeles Lakers personnel Los Angeles Rams personnel People from Aitkin, Minnesota Physicians from Minnesota UCLA Bruins men's basketball players Keck School of Medicine of USC alumni