Biography
Dock Ellis was an All Star pitcher for the Oakland A's who was best known for pitching a no-hitter in 1970 while under the influence of the hallucinogenic drug LSD. Born and raised in Gardena, California, Ellis was a standout athlete in high school, excelling in two sports - basketball and baseball. His natural prowess was for baseball, however, and after high school Ellis was offered a contract to play for the Pittsburgh Pirates. From 1964 to 1968 Ellis was a standout player in the team's farm system, proving he was more than capable to play in the big leagues. He was called up to the majors in June 1968 and became a starting pitcher on the Pirates later that year. Then on June 12, 1970 Ellis made headlines for throwing a no-hitter against the San Diego Padres. Years later he would admit that he was under the influence of LSD during the game, a story that later became the focus of a popular animated documentary short, "Dock Ellis & The LSD No-No" (2010). Ellis helped the Pirates win the World Series in 1971, which would prove to be the highlight of his playing career. He was traded from the Pirates in 1975, and joined the Yankees the following year. Ellis helped the Bronx Bombers make it to the 1976 World Series, but the Pete Rose-led Cincinnati Reds swept the team. Ellis played his last game in 1979, and decided to clean up his act the following year. He got sober in 1980 and spent the remaining years of his life offering drug counseling to prison inmates and minor league players. Ellis also appeared in small roles in two movies during his post-baseball days: "Margin for Murder" (1981) and "Gung Ho" (1986), the latter of which was directed by Ron Howard. Ellis continued his drug counseling up until his diagnosis of cirrhosis in 2007. He died the following year, on December 19, 2008. He was 63. Documentary filmmaker Jeff Radice told the story of Ellis' life in "No No: A Dockumentary" (2014).
