The 1971 All-Star game is among the most memorable midsummer classics of all-time. It was one of the last times Tiger Stadium was on the national stage before a late-1970s renovation destroyed the ballpark's placid green aesthetic. But mostly, the game is remembered for Reggie Jackson's monster home run that hit a transformer on the right field roof.
The American League won the '71 game, the junior circuit's only All-Star victory between 1963-1982.
However, the game was also responsible for some little-known but significant history: It was the first time two black pitchers started an All-Star Game.
A's ace Vida Blue was the American League starter and, after some open campaigning for the role, Pittsburgh Pirate Dock Ellis was named the National League's starter by...wait for it...Sparky Anderson, manager of the defending NL Champ Cincinnati Reds.
The Atlantic: Before the lineups were announced, Ellis publicly chided and pushed National League Manager Sparky Anderson about the start, claiming “they wouldn’t pitch two brothers against each other.” Throughout his career Ellis was a fearless critic of racism in sports, and his work to advance civil rights is widely recognized, perhaps most poignantly in this personal letter from Jackie Robinson.
Ellis, who passed away in 2008, is most known to modern baseball fans for having pitched a no-hitter in 1970 while high on LSD. His retelling of the tale went viral a few years ago as an online video produced by No Mas.
Following his retirement for baseball, Ellis entered a drug rehab program and spent the last 20 years of his life working as a drug counselor.
Dock Ellis & The LSD No-No from Doubleday & Cartwright on Vimeo.
