Dick Ellis on Acid
I saw this on Youtube today that uses video of former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Dock Ellis throwing a no-hitter while on acid. It is a very cool piece of animation.
Dock Ellis pitched from 1968-1979 for five different teams. He was on a World Series Champion in 1971 with Pittsburgh, started for the National League in the All-Star Game that same season which was the best of his career. Ellis won 19 games that year and was a decent pitcher for the Pirates in the time he was there.
But Ellis is best known for some of his antics, the LSD no-hitter was just the best known incident but he did not cop to that until well after he retired. During his career Ellis was known for
1) Giving up a monstrous home to Reggie Jackson in the 1971 All-Star game in Detroit. The ball Jackson hit would probably still be traveling around the earth had it not hit a light pole at the top of old Tiger Stadium. Ellis retaliated by hitting Jackson in the face.
2) He got maced by security at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati. Security claimed Ellis shook his fist at them in a threatening manner. Ellis said he was trying to show them his World Series ring to prove he had business in the stadium.
3) Ellis must have had a thing about Cincinnati because a couple of years later he tried to hit every batter on the Reds to prove a point to his teammates. Dock hit the first three batters easily enough loading the bases. Clean-up hitter Tony Perez managed to avoid getting hit and drew a walk bringing in a run. Ellis then tossed two pitches at the head of All-Star catcher Johnny Bench and was then yanked from the game.
Dock Ellis, also a longtime alcoholic, died in 2008 of a liver ailment. His legend lives in books, songs and even a part of a Robin Williams stand-up routine.
Dock Ellis pitched from 1968-1979 for five different teams. He was on a World Series Champion in 1971 with Pittsburgh, started for the National League in the All-Star Game that same season which was the best of his career. Ellis won 19 games that year and was a decent pitcher for the Pirates in the time he was there.
But Ellis is best known for some of his antics, the LSD no-hitter was just the best known incident but he did not cop to that until well after he retired. During his career Ellis was known for
1) Giving up a monstrous home to Reggie Jackson in the 1971 All-Star game in Detroit. The ball Jackson hit would probably still be traveling around the earth had it not hit a light pole at the top of old Tiger Stadium. Ellis retaliated by hitting Jackson in the face.
2) He got maced by security at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati. Security claimed Ellis shook his fist at them in a threatening manner. Ellis said he was trying to show them his World Series ring to prove he had business in the stadium.
3) Ellis must have had a thing about Cincinnati because a couple of years later he tried to hit every batter on the Reds to prove a point to his teammates. Dock hit the first three batters easily enough loading the bases. Clean-up hitter Tony Perez managed to avoid getting hit and drew a walk bringing in a run. Ellis then tossed two pitches at the head of All-Star catcher Johnny Bench and was then yanked from the game.
Dock Ellis, also a longtime alcoholic, died in 2008 of a liver ailment. His legend lives in books, songs and even a part of a Robin Williams stand-up routine.
Comments