Emmett Littleton Ashford was born on November 23, 1914 in Los Angeles, California, United States and was abandoned in early childhood by his father.
Emmett and his older brother were raised by their mother, an ambitious and strong-willed woman who was a secretary at the California Eagle, a black-oriented newspaper. His supportive home life served him well in overcoming the problems of being the first black umpire in major league baseball.
Ashford attended public schools in Los Angeles, earning varsity letters in track and baseball at the predominantly white Jefferson High School.
He was an excellent student and became the first black to serve as student body president and newspaper editor.
Ashford matriculated at Los Angeles City College, then transferred to Chapman College in Orange, California, in 1941.
Ashford was an excellent student and became the first black to serve as student body president and newspaper editor. He was also the first black to hold a cashier job at the neighborhood grocery store.
He joined the Navy for World War II, and then worked as a postal clerk for ten years, augmenting his income by playing with an otherwise all-white semi-pro team called the Mystery Nine, where he was among the worst players.
Ashford began umpiring in sandlot and recreation-league games in 1937, after a regular umpire failed to show. His officiating initially caused an uproar, the crowd never having seen a black umpire before, but after the game he received a nice collection of money from the crowd.
It was only after Jackie Robinson was signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, thus breaking the color barrier, however, that Ashford thought of umpiring professionally. Ashford matriculated at Los Angeles City College, then transferred to Chapman College in Orange, California, in 1941. He lettered in track and baseball and served as sports editor of the college newspaper. In 1943, Ashford left Chapman because of a lack of funds and joined the navy. Decommissioned in 1947, Ashford took a civil service job with the U. S. Post Office in Los Angeles.
He devoted his recreational time to umpiring sandlot, high school, junior college, and college games and also began playing semiprofessional baseball with the Mystery Nine. A centerfielder with a somewhat unreliable arm, he spent a lot of time on the bench. When the umpire failed to show up to one of the games, Ashford was asked to take his place. He reportedly did so in two-tone shoes, green slacks, and a sports coat. Pandemonium broke out, but the crowd eventually calmed down, approved of his work, and the team got a large collection.
His umpiring was successful on all levels, including the college circuit, with Division I schools such as University of Southern California and UCLA. In 1951, at a time of strong racial intolerance in the United States, he was given a tryout in Mexicali, Mexico, about twenty miles south of El Centro, California.
During a four-game tryout, the white umpires refused to work with him. Ashford recruited someone from the stands to work the bases and spent the entire four games behind the plate. His showy, ebullient style was so exciting to the fans that they cheered rather than jeered--the latter treatment, or worse, was the fate for most umpires. On the recommendation of a major league scout, Rosey Gilhousen, Ashford became the first black umpire in professional baseball in 1951.
Offered a contract to finish the 1951 season of the Class C Southwest League, he took a leave of absence from his job at the post office. In 1951, he was offered a one-year contract. Unable to obtain another leave, Ashford resigned from his job in the finance and payroll division of the post office, giving up fifteen years of seniority and the possibility of being promoted to supervisor. Six months into the season, the Southwest League folded. The five white umpires were quickly placed, and weeks later the league was reorganized as the Class C Arizona-Texas League.
Ashford's perennial humor and repartee, for which he became renowned, served him well during this period. He was tested by biased fans, players, managers, and other umpires, but the El Paso Press hailed Ashford's "great display of guts and courage plus very good umpiring. " During fifteen years in the minor leagues, he umpired in the Southern International League (Class C) from 1951 to 1953, the Arizona-Texas League (Class C) in 1952, the Western International League (Class A) in 1953, and the Pacific Coast League (Class AAA) from 1954 to 1965. He also umpired three winter seasons in the Dominican Republic (1958 - 1959 and 1964).
It was Clarence Rowland, president of the Pacific Coast League, who hired Ashford as the first black umpire in the league in 1954. In 1963, Ashford was promoted to umpire in chief by Rowland's successor, Dervey Soriano, whose influence was instrumental in getting Ashford into the majors. Soriano recognized Ashford's special gifts and used him to boost attendance at various parks and in difficult assignments. When Ashford was the arbiter, it was a certainty that the ballpark's attendance would increase. In 1966, Ashford finally reached the major leagues.
Joe Cronin, the president of the American League, bought Ashford's contract from the Pacific Coast League. Some twenty years after Jackie Robinson's integration as a player, the first black umpire was hired. Ashford's first regular-season game was the season opener between the Washington Senators and the Cleveland Indians at Washington, D. C. , Stadium in 1966. His umpire crew consisted of the crew chief Johnny Stevens, Bob Steward, and Bill Haller, all veterans. Vice-President Hubert Humphrey substituted for President Lyndon Johnson in throwing out the ceremonial first pitch. Ashford had more difficulties getting past incredulous Secret Service men than he had in his duties as officiator. But Cronin had told Ashford to be himself, and the five-foot-seven, 187-pound extrovert was just that. He made history in that first game and no errors. Ashford went on to umpire the 1967 All-Star Game and the 1970 World Series.
He conducted umpiring clinics in Asia, Europe, and Canada. Ashford's major league career was filled with controversy, replete with racial slurs and hostilities from players and managers. Some umpires resented his popularity with the fans and the press. He was criticized for his flamboyance, as symbolized by his French cuffs, which extended just beyond his jacket, his spit-shined shoes and suit that looked just pressed, and especially for his mannerisms in making calls.
He was called a "showboat, " a "clown, " and a "Hollywood hot dog" who sacrificed accuracy for attention. When calling strikes, he assumed a semi-squat stance, his right arm extended out to the side; when it reached its apex, down it would come like a cleaver or karate chop while Ashford pumped his left leg and let out a resounding "Strriike!" that could be heard blocks away; or, he reached up and gave two quick jerks like a person pulling on a train whistle; or, from the squat position, he reached out and motioned with his arm as if he were slamming a car door. He even swept home plate with style, finishing with a cross-stroke that left him standing on one foot.
He was known to run toward first base with the runner, then do a stiff-legged Chaplin walk on returning to home plate, or race with the runner around the base path. He pirouetted out of the way of hit balls. He took to the outfield to determine if a ball had been cleanly caught or trapped.
Others were critical because they felt that he was promoted to the majors only because of pressures from civil rights groups and the federal government. The criticisms were unwarranted: Ashford had spent fifteen years honing his skills in the minor leagues, and umpire schools then were for whites only. Even though his skills had deteriorated slightly by the time he reached the majors, he proved himself highly competent in addition to being popular.
After retiring in 1970, Ashford umpired Pacific-10 Conference college games, served as commissioner and umpire in chief of the proamateur American International League, and worked until his death as the West Coast public relations representative for Baseball Commissioner Bowie Kuhn. Ashford married Margaret Cloud Kirby, who worked for American Airlines. They had three children before her death.
He was living with his second wife, Virginia, when he died of a heart attack in Los Angeles. Ashford was elected posthumously to Chapman College Hall of Fame on February 26, 1981.
Quotations: “Ballplayers are a peculiar lot. The game is their bread and butter. If you call ’em right — the strikes and balls and the base decisions — that’s all they want. They don’t care whether you’re white or black, Eskimo or Indian. ”
Ashford was noted for his friendliness, his sense of humor, and his acrobatic style, and attracted the attention of professional baseball scouts.
Quotes from others about the person
George Vecsey: “Ashford did not become the first African-American umpire in the major leagues merely because he was fast on his feet, he survived the near-race wars of the minor leagues because he could talk better and think faster than the lugs in uniform and the louts in the grandstand. He overwhelmed people with his endurance and his charm. ”
Ashford was married three times. He married Willa Gene Fort in 1937, with whom he had two daughters. He married Gay Ashford in 1950, but they divorced in 1954. Then he married Virginia Ashford.
