Talking Ball with Jeffrey Radice

There were few players like Dock Ellis.

There were few players like Dock Ellis.

Few people ever have been more complicated—or controversial—than the late Dock Ellis. One moment, he could have been complaining publicly about something as trivial as the length of his hotel bed in San Francisco; the next, he might be visiting hardened criminals in the state penitentiary, doing his best to advise them on a straighter and narrower path.

It’s only natural that someone like Ellis would become the subject of a full-length documentary. Directed by Jeffrey Radice, No No: A Dockumentary explores the life and times of Dock Ellis in rich detail. Extremely well-edited and bolstered by a phenomenal 1970s soundtrack, the film features previously unseen home video interspersed with numerous contemporary interviews.

The film examines the complexity of the former Pittsburgh Pirates ace who helped the team win a world championship in 1971, but not before creating headlines with his outcries against racism, his erratic behavior, and his ability to pitch a no-hitter under highly unusual circumstances. Everything is here, from Ellis’ use of LSD and a wide variety of amphetamines to the bizarre hair-curler incident at Wrigley Field to the infamous 1974 game in which he attempted to turn members of the “Big Red Machine” into human pin cushions. The film also touches upon Ellis’ relationship with Jackie Robinson, which creates one of the film’s most emotional sequences.

Just as significantly, the film puts a spotlight on the reformation of Ellis, who managed to transform himself from a drug addict into a successful crusader and counselor against drug abuse.

Earlier this month, I had a chance to pose questions to director Jeff Radice, whose film already has appeared at the Hall of Fame Film Festival in Cooperstown and the Baseball Reliquary in Southern California. Radice shares insights on Ellis’ LSD-fueled no-hitter, his participation in the first all-black lineup, and the successful redemption that Ellis underwent during the last quarter-century, before he finally succumbed to liver disease in 2008.

THT--Dock Ellis CurlersMarkusen: Jeffrey, what was the inspiration to do this documentary? How did it get started?

Jeffrey Radice: In 2004, I produced a short film called LSD A GO GO that went to Sundance and traveled to many festivals. It was about the CIA’s MK ULTRA program in the 1950s and ’60s when they tested LSD as a mind control drug. At that time, numerous people conveyed their personal anecdotes, which had me think to the most famous LSD folklore I’d ever heard. Dock Ellis throwing a no-hitter on LSD had to be near the top. I explored Dock’s life more thoroughly by reading his biography by former U.S. Poet Laureate Donald Hall and realized Dock transcended his no-hitter, and he was near the center of many converging storylines about baseball and America in the 1970s.

Markusen: Of all the former players you interviewed, who do you think was the most insightful?

Radice: I can’t say there is one former player who was most insightful because so many of them added important layers to Dock’s story. To pick one, it might be Mudcat Grant, because he was able to give a perspective as a black pitcher coming up in the era before Dock. Mudcat made it clear that players of his generation really appreciated that Dock was standing up against continued racial indignities in the game. This is supported by the letter Jackie Robinson sent Dock in 1971.

Markusen: Were there any former players who turned down your requests to be interviewed? And why?

Radice: Former Pirates pitcher Bob Veale said he didn’t talk about the dead. This is the same sentiment Dock shared about Roberto Clemente. He explained that he kept Clemente in his heart, where he stays. I completely respect this.

Markusen: Was there any concern going into the project that you might be seen as glorifying Ellis’ no-hitter on LSD?

Radice: The LSD no-hitter is the one event for which Dock will be most remembered. It was glorified before we showed up with the Dockumentary. I made a sincere effort to depict a more complex portrait of the man, sharing his greatest achievements and some of his worst failings. When audiences leave the theater, they’re not talking or thinking about the LSD. I think Dock talked about it because he would be the first to say we need to have a more honest and open dialogue about drug use and abuse in this country.

Markusen: Some skeptics have contended that Ellis did not pitch the no-hitter on LSD, that it would be physically impossible to do. Your reaction to that?

A Hardball Times Update
Goodbye for now.

Radice: There are a lot of myths that surround the ingestion of LSD. Dock said his teammates didn’t have any idea, that they thought acid was something the hippies did. Ask these skeptics if they have any personal experience with LSD or any particular expertise observing and identifying others under the influence of LSD. We know Dock Ellis threw a baseball since he was a child. The pitching motion was ingrained in his muscle memory. If Hendrix could play guitar on acid, Dock could pitch on it. We interviewed the friend who tripped with him the day before the game. Dock was talking about LSD in 1974 to Donald Hall, and mention of it was redacted from his 1976 biography. People will form their own opinions. I tried to gather and present the evidence I could find in support of Dock’s claim. Why would he make it up?

Markusen: Of all the strange and controversial incidents that Ellis was involved with, what was your favorite to explore?

Radice: I don’t know that this one is strange or controversial, but exploring the Sept. 1, 1971, game–when the Pirates started the first all-black lineup–was a definite highlight of Dock’s career. It was a team achievement, and we were able to interview many of the players who started that game—Dave Cash, Gene Clines, Al Oliver, Manny Sanguillen—and some of Dock’s white teammates who didn’t play that day. It’s an important racial milestone that should be celebrated, and what the Pirates did in that game and later winning the World Series in the context of serious racial and civil unrest in 1971 moved society forward perceptibly.

Markusen: What was the most interesting aspect of Ellis’ life you didn’t know about previously that you learned from putting this film together?

Radice: Dock meeting Muhammad Ali and shadowboxing him in the clubhouse was a total surprise and particularly cited by his Pirate teammates as their favorite Dock story. We unearthed no footage of this incident, but we employed some fun animation techniques to bring it to life, and it always gets a great reaction from the audience.

Markusen: Dock died young, at 63 years of age. Do you think he was at peace with himself, given what he had done as a drug counselor over the last 25 years of his life?

Radice: The folks we interviewed who were close to Dock during that time believe he was at peace. He developed an emotional intelligence later in life. I was told by those close to him that Dock was always sensitive and emotional, but it took him a lifetime to be willing to share that side. He read the letter from Jackie Robinson at the end of his life, and the emotionality in his voice as he confronts the words of his hero to himself in the context of his own mortality displays this all.

Markusen: Now that a documentary has been done, what about the possibility of a dramatic film? Is that something you would consider doing?

Radice: We have encountered interest from various quarters over the years, but I don’t have any rights to his story. There is a lot of nuance and depth to Dock Ellis, and a dramatic film easily could fail to reveal what made him unique and human. I left out a lot more than I put in. We have a decade of research if someone wants to license our background work. I made the movie I wished to make, and I have no interest in directing any additional films about Dock Ellis.

Markusen: Our thanks to Jeffrey Radice for his thoughts on No No.

The film, with a running time of one hour and 41 minutes, features interviews with a number of former major leaguers, including Steve Blass, Dave Cash, Gene Clines, Larry Demery, Bruce Kison, Jim “Mudcat” Grant, Al Oliver, Bob Robertson, Manny Sanguillen, Scipio Spinks, Jim Sundberg, and Bob Watson. There are also appearances by Vera Clemente (Roberto Clemente’s widow) and noted film director Ron Howard.

The film, No No: A Dockumentary, is currently available at Amazon.


Bruce Markusen has authored seven baseball books, including biographies of Roberto Clemente, Orlando Cepeda and Ted Williams, and A Baseball Dynasty: Charlie Finley’s Swingin’ A’s, which was awarded SABR's Seymour Medal.
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Ralph C
9 years ago

Great interview, Bruce. I am glad to hear Radice’s thoughts about a dramatic. I would think all the drama that’s necessary is in the documentary. Many times the dramatic and emotional elements of a drama based on a real-life event or person are played up, “Hollywoodized”. Sometimes true drama is achieved through the subtlety of the actual events documented.

I would really like to see this. Thanks for the interview, Jeffrey and Bruce.

Bruce Markusen
9 years ago

Thanks for the kind comment, Ralph. It really is a wonderful documentary. Ellis is covered in-depth, but the film also gives us a feel for baseball in the 1970s, including moments like the all-black lineup of September 1, 1971. It has great editing, music, and special effects. I enjoyed it immensely.

Robert
9 years ago

I know that Dock had a great season in 1976 for the Yankees. Gabe Paul got him for Doc Medich who was not the pitcher Dock was. What Paul did to transform that Yankee team,adding Mickey Rivers and Ed Figueroa was what turned the franchise around. He also aqquired Willie Randolph.

Marc Schneider
9 years ago

Well, I don’t know why Dock couldn’t have pitched a no-hitter on LSD. Kevin Costner pitched a perfect game whild continually having flashbacks to losing his girlfriend. 🙂

Seriously, I certainly don’t have any experience with LSD or any hard drugs but apparently Lawrence Taylor played while on cocaine and it may have helped his performance. I realize different drugs have different effects, but it seems a bit naive to think he couldn’t do it. Of course, players might prefer to think it couldn’t be done.

Ellis played after the first generation of black players so presumably his path, while difficult, was not as bad as (obviously) Jackie Robinson, Aaron, Mays, etc. I don’t actually remember the game where the Pirates had the first all-black lineup, but, I do remember what Aaron went through while chasing Babe Ruth’s record.

I’m very glad Ellis found some peace and was able to live out at least a reasonable (albeit too short) life span afterwards.