1115.org

Damn.

Dock Ellis, who infamously claimed he pitched a no-hitter for Pittsburgh under the influence of LSD and later fiercely spoke out against drug and alcohol addiction, died Friday. He was 63.

His wife, Hjordis, said he died at the USC Medical Center in Los Angeles.

“It’s a tremendous loss to the family,” she said. “He’s been struggling for about a year with the end stages of liver disease.”

Ellis played for the Pirates a bit before my time, but I remember hearing all kinds of crazy stories while I was growing up. Of course nothing can top this one:

“Dock woke up late. Why shouldn’t he? As far as he knew, the team had an off day and he planned to take full advantage of it. Three hits of LSD were ready and waiting in the refrigerator.

“A few minutes later, his girlfriend returned with coffee, donuts, and the morning paper. At noon, they dropped acid. Dock put on a record, while his girlfriend read the paper.

“Dock, it says here you’re pitching today!”

“Whaaaa…? said Dock groggily. He snatched the paper, scanned the box scores, and read:

PITTSBURGH AT PADRES
DOUBLEHEADER
(6 P.M.) – Ellis (4-4) vs. Roberts (3-3)

[He makes it to the game and after having someone help him find his locker, he suits up and enters the game.]

“Dave Roberts, the Padres’ pitcher, had an easy first inning, ending with Roberto Clemente hitting one back to the box. Dock marched to the mound, wondering if he’d last the inning.

“His fingers tingled as he squeezed the ball. He squinted to see catcher Jerry May’s hand signals. He nodded his head and went into his windup, falling slightly off balance in the process. The ball hit the ground about two feet in front of the plate and skipped into May’s glove.

If you’ve ever done acid, you know that this no-hitter is probably the single greatest sporting accomplishment of all time. Really.

Dock’s sobriety and efforts to educate young athletes about the dangers of addiction are as impressive as professional sports’ commitment to aging players is pathetic.

RIP.