Ever since the 1950‘s, when folks like Ken Kesey began stealing LSD from controlled scientific experiments and leaking/distributing it out to the masses, adolescents and young adults everywhere have made the determination that they could learn more from eating paper than by writing one.  Often, previous interests like sports fall to the wayside and are replaced with hiking, dance, and/or a more intent focus on exercising one’s mind.  Mental and spiritual “advancement” may overtake the desire to become a creature of physical dominance.  For the most part, it has become widely accepted as a “truism” that psychedelic drugs and sports are not to be mixed.  Fortunately, those of us who have digested an adequate amount of the blotter and cube have realized that the mass acceptance of a concept doesn’t have much bearing on “reality”.  In fact, in the early Seventies, former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher, Dock Phillip Ellis, Jr. disproved the theory that psychoactive drugs and sports should always remain mutually exclusive, once and for all.

In 1971,  Ellis gained a championship ring with the Pirates and performed as the starting National League pitcher for the All-Star game but, as is often the case, the MLB pitcher is more well known for his actions of controversy.  Among these incidents is a 1976 episode where he intentionally beaned Reggie Jackson in the the face (said to be in retaliation for a homerun that Jackson hit on him during the ’71 All-Star game), his 1974 attempt to bean the entire Cincinnati Reds roster before getting pulled from the game, and a 1972 altercation with a security guard in front of Riverfront Stadium that resulted in him being maced.  Arguably, his most infamous feat took place on June, 12 1970, when he pitched a no-hitter against the San Diego Padres, while hopped up on speed and dosed out of his gourd on Acid.  In fact, Ellis actually obtained his very first stolen base in the Major Leagues, during this game. Read the rest of this entry →