Dock Ellis

Dock Ellis

Dock Phillip Ellis, Jr. (March 11, 1945 – December 19, 2008) was a professional baseball player. A pitcher, Ellis played in Major League Baseball from 1968 through 1979 for the Pittsburgh Pirates, New York Yankees, Oakland Athletics, Texas Rangers, and New York Mets. In his MLB career, he had a 138–119 win-loss record, a 3.46 earned run average, and 1,136 strikeouts.

Ellis threw a no-hitter on June 12, 1970. He later claimed that he accomplished the feat under the influence of LSD. Ellis was the starting pitcher for the National League in the All-Star Game in 1971. That year, the Pirates were World Series champions. Joining the Yankees in 1976, he helped lead the team to the 1976 World Series, and was named the American League Comeback Player of the Year in the process.

Ellis was an outspoken individual who advocated for the rights of players and African Americans. He also had a substance abuse problem: he acknowledged after his retirement that he never pitched without the use of drugs. After going into treatment Ellis remained sober and devoted the remainder of his life to counseling drug addicts in treatment centers and prisons. He died of a liver ailment in 2008 at the age of 63.