72 Facts About Dock Ellis

Dock Ellis played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher from 1968 through 1979, most notably as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates teams that won five National League Eastern Division titles in six years between 1970 and 1975 and won the World Series in 1971.

Dock Ellis threw a no-hitter on June 12,1970, and later stated that he accomplished the feat under the influence of Dock Ellis was the starting pitcher for the National League in the All-Star Game in 1971 and later that year, the Pirates won the World Series.

Dock Ellis was an outspoken advocate for the rights of players and African Americans.

Dock Ellis had a substance abuse problem, and acknowledged after his retirement that he had never pitched without the use of drugs.

Dock Ellis played for the school's basketball team, recording 21 assists in one game.

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Dock Ellis played baseball as an infielder for a local semi-professional team called the Pittsburgh Pirates Rookies, along with future major leaguers Willie Crawford, Bill Rohr, Tom Harrison, Bobby Tolan, Roy White, Ron Woods, Reggie Smith, Don Wilson, Bob Watson and Dave Nelson.

However, Dock Ellis refused to play for the Gardena High School baseball team because a baseball player referred to him as a "spearchucker".

When Dock Ellis was caught drinking and smoking marijuana in a high school bathroom during his senior year, the school agreed not to expel him if he agreed to play for the school's baseball team.

Dock Ellis then attended Los Angeles Harbor College, a junior college.

Dock Ellis was diagnosed with sickle cell anemia at age 17; the diagnosis was later changed to sickle cell trait.

Dock Ellis was arrested for stealing a car, and given probation.

Dock Ellis played for the Batavia Pirates of the Class A New York–Pennsylvania League in 1964.

Dock Ellis believed that he was not on the major league club because the Pirates already had a number of African American players; he felt that the team did not want to alienate white fans.

Dock Ellis was sent down to the Macon Peaches of the Southern League, which Dock Ellis believed was because of the length of his hair.

Dock Ellis said that he was promoted back to Columbus after shaving his head.

Dock Ellis used pills when he pitched, specifically the amphetamines Benzedrine and Dexamyl.

Dock Ellis later said that he never pitched a game without using amphetamines.

Dock Ellis acknowledged that he began to use cocaine in the late 1960s.

Dock Ellis held out from the Pirates in February 1968; he came to terms with the team in March.

At Columbus, Dock Ellis credited his work with manager Johnny Pesky and pitching coach Harvey Haddix for improving his performance.

Dock Ellis made his MLB debut in June 1968, beginning as a relief pitcher, but the Pirates moved Dock Ellis into the starting rotation later that season and he started 10 games.

Dock Ellis said that he threw the no-hitter despite being unable to feel the ball or see the batter or catcher clearly.

Dock Ellis walked eight batters and struck out six, and he was aided by excellent fielding plays by second baseman Bill Mazeroski and centerfielder Matty Alou.

Dock Ellis reported that he never used LSD during the season again, though he continued to use amphetamines.

The first edition of the book reported that Dock Ellis had been drinking vodka on the day of his no-hitter.

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Singer-songwriter Barbara Manning paid tribute to Ellis and his no-hitter in the psychedelic pop song "Dock Ellis", as did folk singer Todd Snider with "America's Favorite Pastime" on his 2009 album The Excitement Plan.

Dock Ellis started Game 1 of the 1970 National League Championship Series to the Cincinnati Reds.

Dock Ellis took the loss, and the Pirates lost the series to the Reds in three games.

The AL selected Vida Blue of the Oakland Athletics as their starter, and Dock Ellis publicly stated that National League All-Star Team manager Sparky Anderson would "never start two brothers against each other".

Anderson surprised Dock Ellis by naming him the starting pitcher of the All-Star Game.

Dock Ellis started Game 2 of the 1971 NLCS, earning the victory over the San Francisco Giants.

Dock Ellis changed hotels because he said the hotel rooms were too small.

Dock Ellis started Game 1 of the 1971 World Series against the Baltimore Orioles.

Dock Ellis allowed four hits and four runs, including two home runs.

Dock Ellis said that the scariest moment of his career was when he attempted to pitch while sober in a 1973 game.

Dock Ellis went to his locker, took some amphetamines with coffee, and returned to pitch.

Dock Ellis agreed, but charged that the Pirates were displaying racism.

Dock Ellis missed most of the last month of the season because of tendinitis in his elbow, and the Pirates lost the division to the New York Mets.

Dock Ellis attempted to hit every batter in the Cincinnati Reds lineup with a pitch on May 1,1974, as he was angry that the Pirates were intimidated by the Big Red Machine.

Dock Ellis admired Pete Rose and was concerned about how he would respond, but Dock Ellis decided to do it regardless.

Dock Ellis hit Rose, Joe Morgan, and Dan Driessen in the top of the first inning, with his first six pitches all aimed at the batters.

Ellis' box score for the game reads as follows: 0 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 0 K Ellis tied eight other players for the MLB record with the three hit batsmen in the inning.

Dock Ellis then won eight consecutive games and nine out of ten, pitching seven complete games in that ten-game stretch.

Dock Ellis called for a team meeting the next day, at which he was expected to apologize.

Dock Ellis sensed that he would be traded that offseason due to the fallout from his suspension.

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Dock Ellis started in Game 3 of the 1976 American League Championship Series, getting the win.

Defiant, Dock Ellis set the charts on fire in the clubhouse, setting off sprinklers.

Dock Ellis ranked this as the "craziest" thing he did during his career.

Dock Ellis complained about manager Billy Hunter's liquor policy in 1978.

Hunter, responding to a raucous team flight, banned liquor on team flights; Dock Ellis vowed that he would bring liquor on the plane to Toronto anyway.

Dock Ellis made three relief appearances with the Pirates that year, retiring after that season.

Dock Ellis threw five distinct pitches: a fastball, a curveball, a changeup, a palmball, and what Dock Ellis called a "sliding fastball".

Dock Ellis trusted his catcher to call pitches, and he rarely asked for a new sign.

Dock Ellis kept a notebook, called "The Book", with detailed information about each hitter's strengths and weaknesses.

Dock Ellis often asked teammates and members of other teams, including pitchers Bob Gibson and Juan Marichal, for advice on how to pitch opposing batters.

Dock Ellis had three children and two grandchildren; both daughters have since died, one in 2003 due to complications arising from type 1 diabetes.

Dock Ellis stopped using alcohol and other drugs in 1980, when his son was an infant.

Dock Ellis fought for players' rights, including the right to free agency.

In 1971, Dock Ellis testified before the United States Senate Subcommittee on Public Health about his experiences with sickle cell anemia and later worked with people who had the disease and raised money for sickle cell research.

Dock Ellis retired from baseball in the spring of 1980, saying that he lost interest in the game.

That year, Dock Ellis entered drug treatment, staying for 40 days at The Meadows in Wickenburg, Arizona.

Dock Ellis worked in Victorville, California as a drug counselor.

Dock Ellis counseled prisoners in Pittsburgh and at a prison in Adelanto, California.

In 2005, Dock Ellis began teaching weekly classes for individuals convicted of driving under the influence.

Dock Ellis appeared in the 1986 film Gung Ho, directed by Ron Howard.

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Dock Ellis continued to play in the Los Angeles Veterans League.

Dock Ellis was inducted into the Baseball Reliquary's Shrine of the Eternals in 1999.

Dock Ellis was diagnosed with cirrhosis in 2007 and was placed on the list for a liver transplant.

However, Dock Ellis suffered heart damage in his last weeks of life, which made a transplant impossible.

Dock Ellis died on December 19,2008, at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center due to his liver ailment.

Dock Ellis is interred at Inglewood Park Cemetery in Inglewood, California.

Dock Ellis's life was the subject of the 2014 documentary film No No: A Dockumentary.