Dock Ellis and the LSD No-Hitter

In June 1970, Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Dock Ellis threw a no-hitter against the San Diego Padres while under the influence of LSD (and a number of other drugs). According to Ellis, he was “high as a Georgia pine,” and during the game “I started having the crazy idea that Richard Nixon was the home plate umpire, and once I thought I was pitching a baseball to Jimi Hendrix, who was holding a guitar and swinging it over the plate.” Last year James Blagden created a video for New York-based clothes merchandiser No Mas, that sets an interview with Ellis to a trippy, psychedelic animation. In a game in 1974, Ellis famously attempted to hit every batter in the Cincinnati Reds lineup, hitting the first three, walking the fourth (who ducked), and then being removed from the game after two throws at the head of Johnny Bench. Ellis later played for both the Yankees and Mets, and passed away in 2008 of liver disease. This video is a great legacy, and is truly a visual marvel.