Twenty years after Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier, Emmett Ashford did the same for umpiring, becoming the first black umpire in Major League Baseball history when he debuted in 1966. To this day , the charismatic and pioneering Ashford holds a special place in baseball history. not only as the first black MLB umpire, but also as the first to play in an All-Star Game (’67) and to officiate a World Series (’70).
But these accomplishments were far from representing the totality of Ashford’s life, which is explored in depth in Called, a new documentary about the pioneering referee. Created by executive producer Raymond Bell and director Doug Harris, the film uses classic footage, decades-old photographs and a wealth of original interviews to portray a singular figure who was larger than life at his era but whose impact is sometimes neglected. in the rich history of the civil rights movement.
As MLB celebrates Jackie Robinson Day this weekend, there’s no better time to change that. Called is set to debut on public television later this year.
“We started peeling back the onion on the Emmett Ashford story, and we were really stunned to read the initial research,” Bell recently told MLB.com in a phone interview. “His story really jumped off the page when we started to really understand who he was. He wasn’t like those traditional, stoic referees. He entertained, he put on a show and the fans came to see him. We were like, “Who is this guy?” His major league story was so inspiring that we were amazed we didn’t know who he was. It was a no-brainer for us to examine the issue (in more depth).
The result is a film that chronicles Ashford’s accomplishments as much as it explores the inner workings of a man of exceptional personality and ambition, whose deep love of baseball and outsized charisma allowed him to overcome insurmountable challenges. He dared to imagine a life that didn’t exist before he lived it, and in doing so, he became something that hasn’t existed since: a famous referee.
“Who would have thought a referee would have fans?” » said Bell.
But Ashford wasn’t like the other referees. He was known for his style and flair. He wore a bow tie and cufflinks on the field, and he essentially invented the big call “Striiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiike threeeeeeee”, by exaggerating both the call itself and its presentation. The fans loved it, and Ashford became a star in his own right in the wildly popular Pacific Coast League of the late 1950s and early 1960s thanks to his theatrical officiating style.
Players, managers and other referees did not always like Ashford’s flamboyant style; he had to fight against a reputation as a “showboat” as well as the systemic racism and discrimination that was rampant at the time. But Ashford’s charisma made him famous in celebrity-obsessed Los Angeles, where he appeared on television shows and rubbed shoulders with black cultural leaders in the arts, fashion and other fields. He also used public relations acumen to become a fixture in the black press, and over time his star began to rise nationally.
“They called it ‘The Show,'” said Harris, who also directed a recent documentary about American football pioneer Walter Gordon. “When you came to the game, you not only went to see the baseball game, you also went to see Emmett’s show. It was very popular here on the West Coast to see Emmett and his antics, especially when Emmett called games behind the plate. It was the real show.
Ashford was a pioneer all his life. He was the first black class president of Jefferson High School in Los Angeles and editor of the school newspaper. He was the first black man in the payroll and finance division of the Los Angeles Post Office and the only black player on the semi-professional team called Mystery Nine, which led directly to his career as a referee full of singular distinctions.
He spent 12 years as an umpire in the PCL before being promoted to the Majors for his historic debut on April 11, 1966. Ashford retired from umpiring after the ’70 World Series, taking on a public relations role in the commissioner’s office under Bowie Kuhn and spent his last decade as an international baseball ambassador. He died of a heart attack in 1980 and is buried in Cooperstown, New York.
MLB umpires wore “EA” patches to honor Ashford on the 50th anniversary of his MLB debut on April 11, 2016. Bell and Harris’ new film is another tribute to a legacy that deserves to be remembered. be recalled.
“We really wanted to tell the story of a man who really had more to do with him than just being a referee,” Bell said. “He was a man of art and education. His story does not only focus on baseball, but tells the life of a businessman. Everything about him is special.
