A Trip to the Ballpark

Allegations of performance enhancing drugs have stained baseball in the last few years. But it’s not new to the sport. Many players in the past have routinely taken amphetamines before games. They say Joe DiMaggio drank ten cups of coffee before suiting up.

Today we hear from one of the more eccentric icons of baseball, Dock Ellis. He was mostly on the mound for the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 1970s. Ellis once won 13 games in a row, and he led the 1971 pirates to a World Series title. But Ellis might just be remembered for one of the strangest accomplishments in the history of sports, one that took place in the summer of 1970.

The final score that game? Pirates two, San Diego zip. That piece was produced by Donnell Alexander and Neille Ilel for Weekend America. You can listen to it at the Public Radio Exchange. And by the way, Dock Ellis went on to become a drug counselor before he passed away in December.

(Photo courtesy Neille Ilel)