Same here. I never heard of the guy, and I keep wondering about this "Gonzo" stuff they're all talking about. I looked up gonzo, and it apparently just means unconventional or exaggerated. Whatever.
IOW he and it are another set of fringe-sect icons which the vast majority couldn't care less about even in his day - hence no1 else even hears about it. Kind of like "the Smiths" being a great '80s band. Yeah, whatever!
Thompson used to be a sports writer. He was sent to the desert to write a piece about a dune buggy race, but he was so stoned, drunk, and screwed up, the copy he eventually turned in had little to do with the race, and lots to do with the Doctor's inability to cover the story due to the "hardships" (self-imposed and otherwise) he faced along the way. The editor published it as-is, and a new form of "journalism" was discovered.