River Cats Announce First Annual Emmett Ashford Award

June 4, 2007 - Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Sacramento River Cats News Release

West Sacramento, Calif. - The Sacramento River Cats have announced the creation of the first annual Emmett Ashford Award to honor a local amateur umpire for sportsmanship and community involvement. Ashford, the award's namesake, was the first African American umpire in both the Pacific Coast League and Major League Baseball. A pre-game assembly to educate nearly 4,000 elementary and middle school students about Emmett Ashford's life and accomplishments will take place at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, June 5 at Raley Field.

The inaugural winner of the award is Mike DiMiceli from Sacramento. Mike is the current President of the Northern California Officials' Association (NCOA) and has been an amateur umpire for nearly 30 years. He has officiated games at the youth, high school, collegiate and professional levels during his time as an umpire. Mike's full-time career is in law enforcement, and he is currently Assistant Executive Director for the California State Commission on Peace Officers Standards and Training. A pre-game ceremony to present the award to DiMiceli will take place behind home plate at 11:15 a.m. on Tuesday.

"We are proud to announce the forming of the Emmett Ashford Award to honor local umpires who, as Mr. Ashford did throughout his life and career, achieve self-excellence and help others," said Bob Hemond, River Cats Executive Vice-President. "Mike DiMiceli is a perfect example of not only someone who shows passion and dedication for the game, but commitment to his family and community as well - all traits that were extremely important to Emmett Ashford."

Emmett Ashford was born in 1914 in Los Angeles, California. In 1951, he became the first African American umpire in organized professional baseball when he umpired in the Southwest International League. In 1954, he joined the Pacific Coast League as an umpire, the first ever African American to do so, and rose to the rank of Umpire-in-Chief one year later. After 12 years of umpiring in the Pacific Coast League he was signed to a contract by the American League. On April 1, 1966, he became the first African American umpire in the history of Major League Baseball. Ashford passed away due to a heart attack in March, 1980 at the age of 65.

Ashford's daughter, Adrienne, will be on hand to help present the inaugural award. She has recently written a book about her father's life and career entitled "Strrr-ike!!: Emmett Ashford, Major League Umpire." The book will be available for sale at Raley Field on Tuesday.

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