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Over at MiLB.com, Danny Wild's got a really fantastic piece about Emmett Ashford, the first black umpire in the major leagues. I'm not going to throw an excerpt in here because the whole story really deserves to be read. It does occur to me that with the first 20th Century black player (Jackie Robinson), the first black American Leaguer (Larry Doby), and the first active female owner (Effa Manley) of an important team all in the Hall of Fame, there might eventually be a place for Ashford, too. He might not have been a great umpire -- opinions are divided -- and you might think umpires shouldn't be showmen. But he certainly was entertaining, and he certainly was a pioneer.
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