Pioneer umpire Ashford’s ashes rest in Cooperstown

In a scenic sloping hillside cemetery overlooking Otsego Lake in Cooperstown, New York about a half-mile from the National Baseball Hall of Fame a modest gravestone marks the burial plot of former Major League umpire Emmett Ashford. The engraving on Ashford’s stone is inscribed: “He believed an umpire should have integrity, perserverance, dedication as an American League umpire, 1965-1970. He added drama to baseball with his zestful flamboyant style.”

Ask any baseball fans to name the first African-American player in the Major Leagues and they will immediately tell you Jackie Robinson, whose number “42” has been unilaterally retired. Many will also recall that former Rookie of the Year, two-time MVP and Triple Crown winner Frank Robinson was baseball’s first black manager.

Nearly 20 years after Jackie Robinson made his barrier-breaking debut and a full generation into African American players’ integration of the major leagues, Ashford made his big league debut on Opening Day in Washington D.C. on April 9, 1966.

Baseball recognized the 50th anniversary of Ashford’s ground-breaking achievement on Opening Day, adorning every current umpire’s uniform with a patch bearing “E.A,” Ashford’s initials. A video tribute was played at every game in his honor.

Ashford recalled Jackie Robinson’s breakthrough as the inspiration for him to pursue a career as a professional umpire, with his sights set on the Major Leagues.

“I was lying on my cot one evening when the announcement came over the radio that Jackie Robinson had signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers. Right then, I said to myself, ‘I’m going to be the first black umpire,'” Ashford told author Larry Gerlach’s book The Men in Blue: Conversations with Umpires.

Known for his widely theatrical calls, a stylish wardrobe that often included cuff-linked shirts and uniquely entertaining approach, Ashford reached the majors at the age of 51 in 1966 following a distinguished 15-year Minor League career, which included becoming the first black umpire in organized (white) baseball in the Southwestern International …

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