Dave Dravecky
Former Star Pitcher
Dave Dravecky is one of the greatest baseball players in the history of the Giants, and one that has faced major obstacles. He didn't even let cancer stop him, though, and pitched a 4-3 win following his surgery
The second was five days later in Montreal, Canada when a loud crack was heard in the stadium and Dave Dravecky was suddenly lying on the mound writhing in pain from a broken arm. As Chuck Swindoll writes, "He had delivered the pitch heard around the world."
Dave's victorious return to baseball is chronicled in his award-winning book, Comeback, which has sold more than 300,000 copies. Two months after he broke his arm in Montreal, Dave's arm was broken again while celebrating the Giants' National League Championship Series victory over the Chicago Cubs. The cancer had returned, and Dave retired from professional baseball in November 1989.
Additional surgeries and the recurring cancer finally led to the drastic amputation of Dave's left arm, shoulder blade and left side of his collarbone. In the book, When You Can't Come Back, Dave describes his loss. With the amputation of his arm, Dave Dravecky was stripped of his sense of identity and the worth he derived from it. He was propelled on a grueling journey to search for answers to questions every man must face: What gives a man identity and value? Is a man's merit deeper than what he has and does?
Dave Dravecky is in great demand as a speaker, addressing a wide variety of audiences across the country. His messages range from motivational to inspirational to evangelical. Through his experience, he addresses loss and suffering, faith, encouragement and hope, reaching out to others and saying goodbye to the past. Hear the inspirational words of Dave Dravecky on overcoming adversity.