Minor league career (1964–1968) While Ellis attended LAHC, various
Major League Baseball teams attempted to sign him to a professional contract, but as he heard the
Pittsburgh Pirates gave out
signing bonuses of $60,000, he held out until the Pirates made him an offer. and the
Columbus Jets of the
Class AAA International League. Ellis pitched in an exhibition game for the Pirates against the
Cleveland Indians in July, earning the win. The Pirates called Ellis up to the majors near the end of the season, but the team did not use him in a game that year. Ellis started the 1967 season with Columbus. He 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. Ellis was sent down to the
Macon Peaches of the Southern League, which Ellis believed was because of the length of his hair. Ellis said that he was promoted back to Columbus after shaving his head. He had a 2–0 win–loss record with Macon and a 5–7 record with Columbus. he came to terms with the team in March. The Pirates optioned Ellis to Columbus, who moved Ellis from the starting rotation to the
bullpen. At Columbus, Ellis credited his work with manager
Johnny Pesky and pitching coach
Harvey Haddix for improving his performance.
Pittsburgh Pirates Ellis made his MLB debut in June 1968, beginning as a relief pitcher, but the Pirates moved Ellis into the
starting rotation later that season and he started 10 games. Ellis pitched his first
complete game in September. He had a 6–5 win–loss record with a 2.51 ERA with the Pirates in 1968. The struggles of
Steve Blass kept Ellis in the starting rotation, as Blass was moved to the bullpen.
June 12, 1970 no-hitter On June 12, 1970, Ellis
no-hit the
San Diego Padres, 2–0, in the first game of a
two-game doubleheader at
San Diego Stadium, while reportedly under the influence of
LSD. After the Pirates had flown to San Diego on Thursday, June 11, Ellis visited a friend in Los Angeles and used LSD "two or three times". Thinking it was still Thursday, he took a hit of LSD on Friday at noon, and his friend's girlfriend reminded him at 2:00 p.m. that he was scheduled to pitch that night. Ellis flew from Los Angeles to San Diego at 3:00 p.m. and arrived at the stadium at 4:30 p.m.; the game started at 6:05 p.m. He also said that his catcher
Jerry May wore reflective tape on his fingers, which helped Ellis see May's signals. 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. As Ellis recounted: Ellis reported that he never used LSD during the season again, though he continued to use amphetamines.
Assessments of LSD claim Bob Smizik of the
Pittsburgh Press, who first broke the story in 1984, believes Ellis' version of events that day, although Smizik did not witness the game in person.
Bill Christine, also of the
Pittsburgh Press, does not believe Ellis' claim and was at the game that day. Christine was a beat reporter who "practically lived with the team that year". Christine had said that he did not notice anything unusual and that if Ellis had reported to the stadium only 90 minutes before his scheduled start, reporters would have been told. John Mehno, a reporter who had "extensive interactions" with Ellis over his career, was skeptical about many stories told by Ellis, including the LSD no-hitter. Mehno said that he has not found a teammate who would corroborate the story. However, Ellis' close friend
Scipio Spinks, a pitcher for the
Houston Astros, has said that he has no doubt that Ellis was telling the truth about his LSD use, as he was very familiar with Ellis' drug habits, including the use of LSD. 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" is also a song by beatmaker Blazo and hip-hop duo
The 49ers that talks about "musical addiction". A 2009 animated short film by James Blagden about the game,
Dock Ellis and the LSD No-No, features narration in Ellis' own voice, taken from a 2008 NPR interview. The no-hitter is featured in the documentary about Ellis' life,
No No: A Dockumentary (2014), directed by Jeffrey Radice.
Robin Williams riffed on Ellis and his no-hitter as part of a segment on performance-enhancing drugs in sports, during his 2009
HBO special
Weapons of Self-Destruction. In
a season 2 episode of
Poker Face, a player laces another's gum with LSD in an attempt at sabotage, but inadvertently "Dock Ellis-ed him."
1970–1971 Ellis struggled for the remainder of the 1970 season, and finished the year with a 13–10 win–loss record as he experienced elbow and shoulder pain. However, he finished second in the NL with four
shutouts and seventh with a 3.21 ERA. The Pirates won the
National League (NL) East division championship. Ellis started Game 1 of the
1970 National League Championship Series (NLCS) to the
Cincinnati Reds. Ellis took the loss, and the Pirates lost the series to the Reds in three games. Ellis worked on his
changeup for the season. He was rewarded by being named the Pirates'
Opening Day starting pitcher; he defeated the
Philadelphia Phillies by a score of 4–2. After a strong start to the 1971 season, posting a 13–3 win–loss record, Ellis was named to appear in the
1971 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, held at
Tiger Stadium in
Detroit. The AL selected
Vida Blue of the
Oakland Athletics as their starter, and Ellis publicly stated that National League All-Star Team manager
Sparky Anderson would "never start two
brothers against each other". Ellis was the losing pitcher in the game. The next time the two opposed each other, Ellis
beaned Jackson in the face in retaliation for his earlier home run. Ellis started Game 2 of the
1971 NLCS, earning the victory over the
San Francisco Giants. During the series, Ellis created a stir by complaining about the Pirates' lodgings, complaining that the organization was "cheap". He changed hotels because he said the hotel rooms were too small. In a losing effort, he lasted only innings. He allowed four hits and four runs, including two home runs. Though Ellis denied being in pain before the game, Ellis finished the season with a 19–9 win–loss record and a 3.06 ERA. He placed fourth in the
Cy Young Award balloting. His 19 wins were fifth best in the league, and his .679
winning percentage was fourth best.
Macing incident On May 5, 1972, Ellis,
Willie Stargell, and
Rennie Stennett missed the team bus to
Riverfront Stadium. A security guard asked the three for identification; Stargell and Stennett complied and were allowed in, but Ellis did not have identification with him. The guard said that Ellis did not identify himself, appeared drunk, and "made threatening gestures with a clenched fist." Ellis showed his
World Series ring as evidence of his affiliation with the Pirates, but in response, the guard maced Ellis. The Reds sued Ellis for assault and Ellis countersued. Before going to trial, the Reds dropped the suit and wrote Ellis a letter of apology. Ellis finished the 1972 season ninth in the NL in ERA (2.70), sixth in winning percentage (.682), fourth in walks per nine innings pitched (1.818) and first in
home runs per nine innings ratio (0.331). The Pirates won the NL East that year and faced the Reds in the
1972 NLCS. The Pirates pitched Ellis with a sore arm, but the Reds won the series. In August 1973, pictures circulated of Ellis wearing
hair curlers in the bullpen during pregame warmups. but charged that the Pirates were displaying racism. In his 1980 book, Ellis admitted that wearing hair curlers produced sweat on his hair, which he used to throw a modified version of a spitball. and the Pirates lost the division to the
New York Mets. Ellis again led the league in home runs allowed per nine innings pitched ratio (0.328).
1974 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. 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. With the bases loaded, Ellis attempted to throw strikes to cleanup hitter
Tony Pérez but walked him, forcing home a run. After Ellis aimed two pitches at the head of
Johnny Bench, he was removed from the game by manager
Danny Murtaugh. 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. Ellis struggled at the start of the 1974 season, with a 3–8 win–loss record and 4.54 ERA through July 10. He then won eight consecutive games and nine out of ten, pitching seven complete games in that ten-game stretch. A
line drive off the bat of
Willie Montañez fractured the
fifth metacarpal bone in Ellis' pitching hand on September 10, prematurely ending his season. Ellis had the seventh-best walks plus hits per inning pitched ratio (1.155) that season. The Pirates won the NL East but lost the
1974 NLCS, three games to one, to the
Los Angeles Dodgers.
1975 Healthy to begin the 1975 season, Ellis continued to perform well. In August, the Pirates asked Ellis to pitch in the bullpen; he refused on consecutive nights. On August 15, 1975, Ellis refused assignment to the bullpen again; as a result, the Pirates suspended him for one day. and attempting to fight him. Reportedly, coach
Don Leppert also tried to fight Ellis.
New York Yankees Ellis sensed that he would be traded that offseason due to the fallout from his suspension. Tired of Ellis' behavior, Pittsburgh
general manager Joe L. Brown insisted that the Yankees take Ellis as part of the deal. His 17 wins were eighth in the AL, while his .680 winning percentage was third best. After the season, he was voted the
AL Comeback Player of the Year by the
United Press International. The Yankees won the
AL East division championship in 1976. Ellis started in Game 3 of the
1976 American League Championship Series (ALCS), getting the win. The Reds defeated the Yankees in four games.
Oakland Athletics and Texas Rangers Before the season, Ellis publicly criticized Yankees owner
George Steinbrenner for giving him a raise that was inadequate given his 1976 performance and for interfering with manager
Billy Martin. Torrez emerged as a top starting pitcher for the Yankees that season, while Ellis struggled. While pitching for Oakland, the team asked him to keep charts. Defiant, Ellis set the charts on fire in the clubhouse, setting off sprinklers. going 10–6 with a 2.90 ERA. Hunter, responding to a raucous team flight, banned liquor on team flights; Ellis vowed that he would bring liquor on the plane to
Toronto anyway. Ellis led a player insurrection against Hunter's authoritarian style, declaring that Hunter "may be Hitler, but he ain't making no lampshade out of me". The Rangers organization blamed Ellis for the team's disappointing finish in 1978 and indicated that they would look to trade Ellis. However, owner
Brad Corbett sided with Ellis over Hunter, firing Hunter after the season.
New York Mets and return to Pittsburgh After starting the 1979 season with a 1–5 win–loss record, Ellis was traded to the
New York Mets on June 15, 1979, for minor league pitchers
Mike Bruhert and
Bob Myrick. The Mets, seeking to upgrade their pitching staff due to poor performances and injuries to
Pat Zachry and
Skip Lockwood, acquired
Andy Hassler from the
Boston Red Sox on the same day. Ellis went 3–7 with a 6.04 ERA with the Mets. Ellis requested the Mets send him back to the Pirates. Seeking more pitching in their pennant race, the Pirates purchased Ellis from the Mets on September 21, 1979, for an undisclosed sum of money; the price was later revealed to be "something in excess of the
waiver price of $20,000". Ellis made three relief appearances with the Pirates that year, Ellis trusted his catcher to call pitches, and he rarely asked for a new sign. ==Personal life==