June 12, 1970: Dock Ellis Pitches a No-Hitter -- On LSD, He Said

June 12, 1970: Dock Ellis pitches a no-hitter -- he says, while high on the mind-altering drug LSD: Lysergic Acid Diethylamide. A drug, but definitely not a performance-enhancing drug.

Dock Phillip Ellis Jr. -- yes, "Dock" was his real name, and his father's -- was born on March 11, 1945 in Los Angeles. He graduated from Gardena High School, starring on their basketball team, but refused to play on their baseball team because a would-be teammate called him a racist name. Instead, he played on a semi-pro baseball team that included several future major leaguers from Los Angeles, including Bobby Tolan, Reggie Smith, Don Wilson, Bob Watson and Roy White.

Their manager, Chet Brewer, became a scout for the Pittsburgh Pirates, and they signed him, even though they knew he was already drinking and using marijuana. In the minor leagues, he got hooked on amphetamines, and later said he never pitched a game without taking some. He also started using cocaine.

Nevertheless, he reached the majors with the Pirates in 1968, and became teammates with future Hall-of-Famers Roberto Clemente, Bill Mazeroski and Willie Stargell. He was mainly a reliever in 1968, and solely a reliever in 1969, but was moved into the starting rotation in 1970.

On Friday, June 12, the Pirates played a doubleheader against the San Diego Padres at San Diego Stadium. (Its name would be changed to Jack Murphy Stadium in 1980 and Qualcomm Stadium in 1998.) Ellis started the 1st game, in spite of his activities over the last 24 hours.

As the team landed in San Diego on Thursday, June 11, after playing the Giants in San Francisco, Ellis decided to make the 2-hour drive to see old friends in South Central Los Angeles. While there, he later claimed, he used LSD "two or three times."

On Friday at 12:00 Noon, thinking it was still Thursday, he took another hit of LSD. Then, at 2:00 PM, his friend's girlfriend reminded him that he was scheduled to pitch that night. He knew he couldn't drive in his condition. So he went to the airport, and got a 3:00 flight to San Diego. He arrived at the stadium at 4:30. The game started at 6:05.

He said he couldn't feel the ball, or see the batter or the catcher, Jerry May, clearly. Fortunately, he'd discussed the situation with May beforehand, and May wore reflective tape on his fingers, which helped Ellis see May's signals. (This is, mostly likely, illegal in baseball today.) He walked 8 batters, although he also struck out 6. He also hit a batter, Ivan Murrell. Some good plays by 2nd baseman Mazeroski and center fielder Matty Alou helped keep the no-hitter alive. By Ellis' own recollection:

I can only remember bits and pieces of the game. I was psyched. I had a feeling of euphoria. I was zeroed in on the glove, but I didn't hit the glove too much. I remember hitting a couple of batters, and the bases were loaded two or three times. The ball was small sometimes, the ball was large sometimes. Sometimes I saw the catcher, sometimes I didn't. Sometimes, I tried to stare the hitter down and throw while I was looking at him. I chewed my gum until it turned to powder. They say I had about three to four fielding chances. I remember diving out of the way of a ball I thought was a line drive. I jumped, but the ball wasn't hit hard and never reached me.

In fact, he only hit one batter, and the Padres never loaded the bases, although they got 2 men on 3 times. He was backed by 2 solo home runs by Stargell, in the 2nd inning and in the 7th. Padre starter Dave Roberts also pitched well, allowing only 3 hits aside from Stargell's homers. Neither Clemente nor Mazeroski got a hit.

The last out for Ellis was a strikeout of Ed Spiezio. The Pirates won, 2-0. The Padres won the nightcap, 8-2.

So, did Dock actually pitch a no-hitter on "acid"? Bob Smizik of The Pittsburgh Press first broke the story in 1984, and he wrote that he believed Ellis' version of the story. But he was not at the the game. Bill Christine covered that game for the Press, and said he did not notice anything unusual. He said that if Ellis had reported to the stadium only 90 minutes before his scheduled start, reporters would have been told. In addition, reporter John Mehno said he could not find a single teammate willing to back the story up. Nevertheless, Scipio Spinks, a pitcher for the Houston Astros and a close friend of Ellis', was familiar with Ellis' drug habits, and said that he had no doubt that Ellis was telling the truth.

Ellis reported that he never used LSD during the season again, though he continued to use amphetamines. He said that he regretted taking LSD that day because it "robbed him of his greatest professional memory." Not that his no-hitter was "tainted," but that he couldn't really remember it.

On June 28, the Pirates closed Forbes Field, by sweeping a doubleheader with the Chicago Cubs, 3-2 and 4-1. Ellis did not pitch in either game. They went on a roadtrip, and, on July 16, opened Three Rivers Stadium. Ellis started that game, and pitched reasonably well, but gave up a home run to Tony Pérez, and was the losing pitcher as the Cincinnati Reds triumphed, 3-2.

(The Reds had closed Crosley Field with a win over the San Francisco Giants on June 24, and opened Riverfront Stadium with a loss to the Atlanta Braves on June 30. The Philadelphia Phillies closed Connie Mack Stadium on October 1, and opened Veterans Stadium on the following April 10, in each case with a win over the Montreal Expos.)

The no-hitter was 1 of 4 shutouts Ellis pitched that year, as he went 13-10. The Pirates won the National League Eastern Division title, but lost the NL Championship Series to the Reds. In 1971, Ellis made his only All-Star Game, but gave up a long home run to Reggie Jackson of the Oakland Athletics. He finished 19-9, and won the World Series. Ellis was the losing pitcher in Game 1, and was injured and didn't pitch in the Series again, but got a ring.

He went 15-7 in 1972, and the Pirates won the East again, but lost the NLCS to the Reds. In 1973, by his own admission, he tried to pitch in a Spring Training game without drinking or taking pills beforehand. During pregame warmups, he had no control. He went back to the clubhouse, and took amphetamines, and pitched while hopped-up.

But he had been battling arm trouble. Although the Pirates finished 2nd in 1973, and won the Division again in '74 and '75, he had little to do with it. The Pirates lost the NLCS to the Los Angeles Dodgers in '74, and to the Reds in '75.

After the '75 season, the Pirates traded Ellis, pitcher Ken Brett (brother of George Brett), and rookie 2nd baseman Willie Randolph to the New York Yankees for pitcher George "Doc" Medich. This was a great trade for the Yankees, as Randolph became their starting 2nd baseman for the next 13 seasons, while Ellis rebounded to go 17-8, as the Yankees won the American League Pennant. In the World Series, they faced Ellis' old nemesis, the Reds, who swept them in 4 straight, including beating Ellis in Game 3.

But Ellis proved himself to be not Yankee owner George Steinbrenner's kind of guy. On April 27, 1977, the Yankees traded Ellis, outfielder Larry Murray and infielder Marty Perez to the A's for pitcher Mike Torrez. It was another great trade for the Yankees, as Torrez helped them win the World Series. The A's, in selloff mode, didn't keep Ellis, selling him to the Texas Rangers.

He pitched decently in 1977 and '78, helping the Rangers get to 2nd place in the AL Western Division both times. But in 1979, he looked done. The Rangers traded him to the New York Mets. Late in the season, the Mets sold him to the Pirates. Although he helped them finish off the NL East title, he had arrived too late to be permitted onto the postseason roster, as the Pirates won the World Series. His contract ran out, and no one signed him for 1980.

He retired from baseball, only 35 years old, and went into drug rehab. He became a substance abuse counselor, and the Yankees hired him as such in the 1980s. He played in the Senior Professional Baseball Association in Florida in its only 2 seasons, 1989 and 1990. But, as substance abuse so often does to people, even years after they stop, its damage had already been done. He died of cirrhosis on December 19, 2008, in his hometown of Los Angeles. He was 63 years old.

Did "Ellis, D." really throw a no-hitter on LSD? He went to his grave saying he did. The surviving footage of the game is inconclusive. We may never know for sure, man.

*

June 12, 1970 was a Thursday. These other Major League Baseball games were played that day:

* The New York Yankees beat the Kansas City Royals, 5-0 at Kansas City Municipal Stadium. Fritz Peterson pitched a 5-hit shutout. Jerry Kenney hit a home run. Bobby Murcer went 2-for-4 with a walk and an RBI. Thurman Munson went 1-for-4.

* The New York Mets beat the Atlanta Braves, 8-1 at Shea Stadium. Gary Gentry outpitched Phil Niekro. Tommie Agee hit 2 home runs, Mike Jorgensen 1. Orlando Cepeda hit a home run for the Braves. Hank Aaron did not, but did go 2-for-4.

* The Montreal Expos beat the Houston Astros, 7-6 at Jarry Park in Montreal.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 3-1 at Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia. Pete Rose and Johnny Bench both went 0-for-4, but Tony Pérez hit a home run.

* The Oakland Athletics beat the Baltimore Orioles, 4-2 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Doubles by Bert Campaneris and Reggie Jackson in the top of the 11th inning won the game for the A's. Oddly, Campaneris hit a home run, and Reggie did not. Even odder, Rollie Fingers was their starting pitcher, and Jim "Mudcat" Grant won the game in relief. Brooks Robinson went 1-for-5. Frank Robinson went 0-for-5.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Cleveland Indians, 4-1 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium.

* The California Angels beat the Detroit Tigers, 5-2 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Jim Fregosi hit 2 home runs for the Halos. Al Kaline did not play for the Bengals.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Washington Senators, 6-0 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Tommy John pitched a 2-hit shutout.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Boston Red Sox, 5-2 at Metropolitan Stadium in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota. Harmon Killebrew went 1-for-2 with 3 walks. Rod Carew went 1-for-5 with an RBI. Carl Yastrzemski went 0-for-3 with a walk.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 2-1 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Ernie Banks did not play.

* And the St. Louis Cardinals beat the San Francisco Giants, 4-1 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Bob Gibson went the distance for the win, and hit a home run. Lou Brock went 1-for-4. Willie Mays did not play.

The 1970 World Cup was also in progress in Mexico, but was between the Group Stage and the Knockout Stage, so no games were played in it on this day.