Looking back at Emmett Ashford, a trip in Black History Month
This particular month is in great influence of history and the main focus of the times point to Emmett Ashford in baseball’s perspective.
The baseball umpire became the first African American to break the racial divide in Major League Baseball to regulate a ball game. The legend, who took part in the game’s history as an iconic figure for the Negro communities and the minorities in the country,
was able to become a leading mentor for umpires in the game.
Ashford’s quest began at the Naval Air Station Corpus Christi when he heard on radio that a former Army Officer signed with a baseball team in Brooklyn.
Emmett played baseball during his college years but he retracted his love for the game when he joined the Navy to serve in World War II.
However, his interest in the game grew when the Brooklyn Dodgers made the move for an African American player and pulled him into a game in 1947.
At the apex of his career, the former Navy member was working at a post office in 1951. With his ability to leave the post restricted, Ashford quit and made a pact to follow through on becoming the first African American man to umpire a Major League game.
He started his career with the Southwestern International League, becoming the first black professional umpire.
He would gain that feat again as he moved on to the American League in 1961 and starred in the Major Leagues in 1966. His appearance in that game would earn him the privilege of being called the first African American umpire in Major League Baseball.
However, he did come across a lot of segregation tendencies in the country but eventually he earned the respect of the fans in his pursuit of his personal goal. Emmett wrote about the hostility at the time and gave an example of the occasion.
"In those days, things were segregated, but it was different for me. I remember calling upon the finest all-white motel in El Centro", Ashford wrote. "I approached the owner.’Sir, I am that barefoot and uncultured Negro man you have been reading about".
"I wish to seek lodging in your handsome establishment. The fellow stared at me curiously. 'If you got enough nerve to come in here and talk like that, then you got a room’. With that, he led me to the finest suite in the place. The man knew style when
he saw it".
Ashford remains one of the top pioneers in the game and his influence on the game of baseball could be termed as unilateral. He not only encouraged the Negro community to take part in the Major League but he paved the way for equal rights in his position
behind the plate.
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