The Chronicle of Doc Ellis

Dock Ellis was not the biggest name in baseball history, but he was a piece of it in 1970 when he fired a no-hitter. This is easily one of the weirder stories in sports history, and if you haven’t heard about it before, you’re in for a treat.

The funny thing is, it was not until 14 years later that we were told what made his no-hitter infamous: he was under the influence of LSD. Even more ironic about this all is the fact that he was working for an anti-drug program at the time when he finally admitted it.

Ellis by no means took LSD on purpose before the game. Had he known he was scheduled to start that day, he never would have taken the drugs. However, Ellis thought that it was his day off, and had decided to take the drugs with the knowledge that he wouldn’t pitch until later that week. This was a major blunder, as he soon learned that it was his day to pitch.

Ellis can’t recall much about the game, which shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. He remembers being keenly focused on the catcher, and anyone who saw the game would know that he had a handful of walks and even hit a few batters.

Sometimes he couldn’t even remember the score of the game or what part of the inning the game was in. When a few balls were hit in his direction, he jumped away from them as if he was scared.

LSD is bad for you. No one needs to be told that, and certainly not someone now who works to teach youth how bad it is. However, the fact a guy could pitch a no-hitter in a MLB game while on such a powerful drug is truly remarkable.

One thing is for sure. This is something that will most likely never happen again in the future of baseball.

About this author: While he loves baseball, he also regularly writes about the DeLonghi 4 slice toaster and other DeLonghi toaster ovens.