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Emmett Ashford (1914-1980) - The Jackie Robinson of Major-League Baseball Umpires


DonRocks

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In doing research for the 1970 World Series, I learned that Emmett Ashford was the first black umpire ever to officiate a World Series Game (I've updated my post about Game One of the World Series to reflect this fact.)

Not only that, Ashford was the first black umpire ever to be in Major League Baseball - working from 1966-1970.

Feb 7, 2011 - "Ashford Broke Barriers behind a Mask"  by Danny Wild on milb.com (note milb, not mlb)

Incredibly, Chuck Meriwether became the second black umpire in the American League  - in 1993.

In 2008, the donrockwell.com community was three-years old, and Barack Obama won the Presidential election. That same year, a pair of black umpires would work a major-league game for the first time.

When I was younger, I thought affirmative action was demeaning and unnecessary; I could not have been more wrong.

How is Emmett Ashford *not* in the Baseball Hall of Fame?

Oct 10, 2009 - "Chapman Students Want Black Ump in Hall of Fame" by Doug Irving on ocregister.com

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