Revelations and investigations
The dangers of amphetamines in sports have been recognized since Danish cyclist Knut Jensen died during a road race in the 1960 Olympics in Rome and British cyclist Tommy Simpson died in the 1967 Tour de France, both while using the stimulants. The deaths prompted the International Olympic Committee to begin testing athletes for drugs before the 1968 Games in Mexico.
Yet amphetamine use in baseball has gone unchecked despite numerous warning signs since 1970, when Jim Bouton's book, "Ball Four," first exposed their prominence in the game and the US government banned their use without a prescription.
A brief chronology:
1973 -- An investigation by the House Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce found evidence of an "alarming" degree of improper drug use -- primarly amphetamines and anabolic steroids -- "in all sports and levels of competition with few exceptions." The committee's chairman, Representative Harley Staggers, a West Virginia Democrat, cited "an urgent need for more aggressive action" and said commissioners of the major professional sports had persuaded him self-regulation would be intensified and would be effective.
1980 -- Pete Rose helped the Phillies win the World Series a year after he acknowledged he had used amphetamines. A team physician for Philadelphia's Double A affiliate testified he illegally prescribed amphetamines during the 1980 season for several Phillies, including Rose, at the players' request.
No charges were brought against the players, but Pennsylvania's attorney general criticized them for unethical conduct during the investigation and suggested baseball probe the widespread use of amphetamines.
1984 -- Former Red Sox pitcher Bill Lee detailed amphetamine use in his book, "The Wrong Stuff." He said amphetamines were used as antidotes to hangovers as well as fatigue. "Amphetamines weren't being used for kicks, they were being used to sober up," he wrote. "A player did not gulp down `greenies' with the expectation that it would enhance his performance. He did it to get his pulse going on the morning after the night before."
The same year, Sports Illustrated asked 198 world-class athletes if they would take a pill they knew would kill them in five years if it would help them win a gold medal. Fifty-two percent said yes.
1985 -- A federal judge warned baseball officials to "clean up their house" as he sentenced a clubhouse caterer for the Pirates to 12 years in prison for selling cocaine to major leaguers. During the trial, Dave Parker and Dale Berra testified that they obtained amphetamines from Hall of Famer Willie Stargell. Parker also said Stargell and Bill Madlock, the team's captains, acted as amphetamine distributors. In addition, John Milner testified that he used liquid amphetamines, also known as "red juice," that Hall of Famer Willie Mays kept in his locker. "I don't know what kind of speed it was," Milner said, "but it kept your eyes open."
Then-commissioner Peter Ueberroth, who took no action against Stargell, Madlock, and Mays, imposed career-long drug tests on 21 players implicated in the trial. But Ueberroth said he would not require tests for amphetamines because they were legal with a prescription.
1994 -- An Ohio pharmacist told investigators he traded 100 doses of amphetamines in 1992 to Herm Winningham, then a Sox outfielder, for a baseball autographed by the Red Sox and a team jersey signed by Roger Clemens. Winningham denied the allegation and was not charged. The pharmacist pleaded guilty to four felony charges, including drug trafficking, and was sentenced to 18 months in prison.
1999 -- Dwight Gooden asserted in his book, "Heat," that at least 10 members of the New York Mets in the 1980s were regular amphetamine users. He also described pitching on amphetamines in 1986, when the Mets defeated the Red Sox in the World Series.
2003 -- Numerous players acknowledged the widespread use of amphetamines after David Wells further detailed their presence in his book, "Perfect I'm Not: Boomer on Beer, Brawls, Backaches, and Baseball," and Baltimore Orioles pitcher Steve Bechler died at age 23 after using the stimulant ephedrine.
Derrek Lee described amphetamine use to the Miami Herald as very prevalent, and Chipper Jones was more blunt to the Los Angeles Times.
"I don't want to say guys are addicted, but it's like putting on your uniform," said Jones, a critic of amphetamine use. "You have your glove, your batting gloves, your bat, you take your greenie, and you're ready to go.
Bechler's death prompted the Food and Drug Administration to ban ephedra supplements, which contain an herbal stimulant from which ephedrine is derived, although a federal judge last week overturned the ban. Baseball banned ephedra in January in its agreement on steroid testing.
2004 -- Tug McGraw, in a memoir published after his death at age 59, told of pitching in the big leagues on amphetamines. And baseball commissioner Bud Selig announced his drug policy for the major leaguers would be "zero-tolerance."
Compiled by Bob Hohler
