De La Cretaz: How Dock Ellis and his no-hitter are misremembered

From Britni de la Cretaz at Rolling Stone on December 20, 2017:

In 1970, as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Dock Ellis pitched a no-hitter on LSD.

This fact has become baseball legend, and Ellis a cult hero. There are T-shirts that state this achievement. There is a recent documentary about the pitcher’s life, its title is simply, No No: A Dockumentary. You can watch an animated short about the accomplishment, and listen to Ellis himself narrate. Every year on June 12th, sports publications will predictably churn out think pieces memorializing the 1970 game in which Ellis no-hit the San Diego Padres while walking eight batters.

Now, nine years after his death at age 63, Dock Ellis’ name is synonymous with the baseball game he pitched while tripping on acid. But to distill the man’s legacy down to just this story is to do a disservice to the person Ellis really was, and how Ellis himself wanted to be remembered.

Read the full article here: https://www.rollingstone.com/sports/features/dock-ellisplayer-who-pitched-no-hitter-on-lsd-is-misremembered-w514320



Originally published: December 28, 2017. Last Updated: December 28, 2017.