Dave pitched for the Padres during the 1984 National League championships and the World Series. He was traded to the San Francisco Giants in 1987, where he again pitched in the National League championships. His 5-0 opening day victory over the Dodgers in the spring of 1988 was overshadowed that fall by the discovery of a desmoid tumor and the removal of half the deltoid muscle in his pitching arm.
In August 1989, following months of rehabilitation and against impossible odds, Dave pitched the Giants to a 4-3 win over Cincinnati. His triumphant return to the mound was the subject of his first book, Comeback. While pitching against Montreal a week later, Dave's left arm snapped with a deafening crack that could be heard in the stands. It broke a second time in October when Dave joined his teammates on the field to celebrate their National League victory. The tumor had returned and forced Dave's retirement from professional baseball in November 1989.
Dave underwent further surgery and radiation in 1990. During 1991 he was bedridden and experienced incessant pain caused by a severe staph infection. Finally that June, the drastic amputation of Dave's left arm, shoulder blade and left side of his collarbone was performed. Through an incredible odyssey of physical and emotional pain, Dave and his wife Jan experienced the heights and depths of joy and despair, faith and doubt, intimacy and aloneness. Their story, chronicled in the book, When You Can't Come Back, has been a powerful source of encouragement to readers of every age and background. Because of the overwhelming response to their story, Dave and Jan established Dave Dravecky's Outreach of Hope (formerly the Dave Dravecky Foundation), a non-profit organization which provides hope to those whose lives have been devastated by cancer, amputation, depression or other adversity.
Dave now earns his living as a professional speaker, addressing a wide variety of audiences across the country. His messages range from motivational to inspirational and address loss and suffering, encouragement and hope, reaching out to others, saying goodbye to the past, and faith.
Dave has been married to Jan, his high-school sweetheart, for 15 years. The Draveckys relocated from Boardman, Ohio to the Colorado Springs, Colorado area in 1993. They are the proud parents of a daughter, Tiffany, and a son, Jonathan.
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John Smith 
Head Football Coach,
Michigan State University
Coach John L. Smith’s experience with desmoid tumors began when his wife Diana (she prefers Di) underwent surgery to remove a baseball-size tumor in May 2004. This tumor was discovered when she became "dastardly" nauseous and couldn't eat or drink anything. Her first diagnosis was that she had a rare colon cancer that was most often terminal. The family tried to remain upbeat, she exercised, took vitamins and even went on a trip to Africa where John climbed Kilimanjaro. Then John and Diane went to another hospital which only confirmed the first diagnosis. However, Coach Smith couldn't and wouldn't accept the prognosis. He was adamant that his wife seek another opinion, this time at University of Michigan Cancer Center. Here the doctor reviewed the results of the surgery and all of Diane's medical record and delivered the news. She had a desmoid tumor, not colon cancer. A trip to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston confirmed this diagnosis. So far, follow up scans have showed no recurrence and Diane feels blessed. She is feeling awesome, appreciates the everyday things she does and has a new lease on life.
Coach Smith became the 23rd head football coach at Michigan State University on December 19, 2002. He brought with him a reputation as a program builder from his previous head coaching tenures at Idaho, Utah State and Louisville. He has only enhanced that track record at Michigan State, earning the Dave McClain Coach of the Year award as selected by the Big Ten media panel in 2003. Coach Smith has compiled a 123-72 record in 16 years as a college head coach, including an impressive 80-32 mark in conference games. He ranks No.12 among active NCAA I-A football coaches in career victories and No. 17 in career winning percentage. Coach Smith has produced six conference champions. Twelve of his 16 teams have participated in postseason play, including seven-straight bowl appearances from 1997-2003. John L. tutored 12 first-team All-Americans at Idaho, including Walter Payton Award winners John Friesz and Doug Nussmeier.
A native of Idaho Falls, John L. was a linebacker and quarterback at Weber State, where he earned Big Sky Conference scholar-athlete honors in 1971-72. He received his undergraduate degree in physical education in 1971, and earned a master's of science degree in physical education from the University of Montana in 1974. In 2000 Sports Illustrated recognized him as one of Idaho's top 100 athletes of the 20th century. For his accomplishments both as athlete and head coach, he was inducted into the Idaho Athletics Hall of Fame in 2001. He and his wife Diana are the parents of three children.
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