About Film

CALLED UP is a one-hour documentary being produced by the sports filmmaking team of Raymond Bell and Doug Harris to heighten awareness about the untold stories of historical American sports pioneers and legends.

Emmett Ashford, a native of Los Angeles grew up with a love and deep passion for baseball. Like many African Americans of his era, Emmett was inspired by the late Jackie Robinson.  Unlike Robinson, Ashford’s aspirations were not to hit and field balls on the field, but to enforce the rules of the game as a pioneering Major League umpire. From 1951 to 1966, he would endure a long tough journey through the minors in the Southwest International League, Texas-Arizona League, Western International League, and the Pacific Coast League before finally reaching the majors as an American League umpire in 1966.

CALLED UP is the story of Major League Baseball’s first African-American umpire who brought a flare and style to the game that had never been seen. Through in-depth interviews with family, former players, umpires, sportswriters and baseball historians, the Bell/Harris team will explore Ashford’s life journey from a unique and entertaining perspective. Throughout his long career in organized baseball (minor leagues), Emmett’s flamboyant umpiring style was popular extremely popular with fans. This characterization included arriving for ball games eloquently dressed in stylish suits, which was uncommon at the time for his umpiring colleagues.  Ashford’s fashionable persona also stood out on the field as well, where he accented his uniform shirt with cuff links and highly polished shoes while calling the action.

With baseball being defined as America’s game in the mid 20th century, black stars began migrating into the majors from the Negro League which truly made it America’s game.  Despite this sudden influx of new players, racial barriers still existed behind the plate, causing many observers to believe that race played a role in Ashford not making it to the major leagues much sooner.  Other critics felt that his flashy style and showmanship drew too much attention and was the cause for his lengthy stint toiling through the minors. While facing these tough obstacles, Ashford continued to work hard to achieve his dream of one day becoming a major league umpire.

As one of the premiere umpires in the Pacific Coast League for 12 years, West Coast baseball fans enjoyed the spirit and excitement Ashford brought to each game. Short in stature at 5’8”, Emmett’s presence while umpiring can be described as energetic, high-spirited, charismatic and entertaining. Whether swiftly running down fly balls to position himself for out calls, or his animated gestures making calls from behind home plate, Ashford left an extraordinary mark on baseball that many umpires would later emulate. The pinnacle of his five-year career in Major League Baseball included umpiring the 1967 All-Star game in Anaheim, and the 1970 World Series the year he retired from the game at the age of 55.

CALLED UP is being directed by award-winning documentary filmmaker Doug Harris, who produced OUT: The Glenn Burke Story, a critically acclaimed film about Major League Baseball’s first openly gay player. The nationally televised OUT documentary was nominated for an Emmy and the GLAAD Award.