Watch Dock Ellis The Movie: ‘I Took LSD And Pitched A Perfect Game For the Pittsburgh Pirates’
Pittsburgh Pirates Pitcher Dock Ellis expresses his sentiments about West Division Winners San Francisco Giants, after their win, Thursday, in this Oct. 1, 1971 file photo taken in Philadelphia, Pa.
DRUGS and sport is a familiar story. One school of thought says all drugs cheats should be banned. Another says that since cheating is rife, why not make the drugs legal.
Dock Ellis took drugs and played pro sports. He’s the subject of the film No No: A Dockumentary.
Ellis was a player for the Pittsburgh Pirates. In 1970 he pitched a no-hitter while off his face on LSD.
Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Dock Ellis, right, gets a manicure in a Detroit barbershop, Tuesday morning, July 13, 1971. Ellis is the starting pitcher for the National League in tonight’s All-Star game with the American League.
The Dallas Observer:
Thirty-five years ago, on June 12, 1970, Pittsburgh Pirate and future Texas Rangers pitcher Dock Ellis found himself in the Los Angeles home of a childhood friend named Al Rambo. Two days earlier, he’d flown with the Pirates to San Diego for a four-game series with the Padres. He immediately rented a car and drove to L.A. to see Rambo and his girlfriend Mitzi. The next 12 hours were a fog of conversation, screwdrivers, marijuana, and, for Ellis, amphetamines. He went to sleep in the early morning, woke up sometime after noon and immediately took a dose of Purple Haze acid. Ellis would frequently drop acid on off days and weekends; he had a room in his basement christened “The Dungeon,” in which he’d lock himself and listen to Jimi Hendrix or Iron Butterfly “for days.”
A bit later, how long exactly he can’t recall, he came across Mitzi flipping through a newspaper. She scanned for a moment, then noticed something.
“Dock,” she said. “You’re supposed to pitch today.”
Ellis focused his mind. No. Friday. He wasn’t pitching until Friday. He was sure.
“Baby,” she replied. “It is Friday. You slept through Thursday.”
Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Dock Ellis (17) is shown in Bradenton, Fla., Feb. 1974, during spring training.
Pitcher Dock Ellis, left, and second baseman Willie Randolph limber up with snowballs outside New York’s Shea Stadium, Feb. 3, 1976. Both players signed 1976 Yankee contracts today. (AP Photo)
In this file photo made July 13, 1971, American League All-Star pinch hitter Reggie Jackson, of the Oakland Athletics, hits a two-run home run in the third inning against the National League in Detroit. National League pitcher Dock Ellis (17), of the Pittsburgh Pirates, and catcher Johnny Bench, of the Cincinnati Reds, look on. (AP Photo, File)
Posted: 7th, September 2014 | In: Film, Sports Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
