Dock Phillip Ellis Jr. was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher from 1968 through 1979, most notably as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates teams that won five National League Eastern Division titles in six years between 1970 and 1975 and won the World Series in 1971. Ellis also played for the New York Yankees, Oakland Athletics, Texas Rangers and New York Mets. In his MLB career, Ellis accumulated a 138–119 (.537) record, a 3.46 earned run average, and 1,136 strikeouts.

The 1976 New York Yankees season was the 74th season for the Yankees. The team finished with a record of 97–62, finishing 10½ games ahead of the Baltimore Orioles to win their first American League East Division title.