Rickwood Field will witness history unfold when the St. Louis Cardinals take on the San Francisco Giants on Thursday night. This be the first American League/National League game at the nation’s oldest baseball ballpark. But the umpiring crew for baseball’s tribute to the Negro Leagues will be Black, a first in AL/NL history, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.
Adrian Johnson, 49, will work as crew chief, and Alan Porter, 46, will be behind home plate. C.B. Bucknor, 61, Jeremie Rehak, 36, and Malachi Moore, 34, will round out the group.
Furthermore, MLB.com announced that the Rickwood event will feature a Black official scorer: Frank Johnson, who currently scores Houston Astros games at Minute Maid Park.
First-All Black Crew to Umpire Rickwood Field Game
Only 11 Black people have been full-time umpires in AL/NL play, starting with Emmett Ashford in 1966. Rosenthal reports that the umpires for the game will wear a patch in honor of Ashford.
“The fact that we have enough guys to form a whole crew and have a replay guy as well, that says a lot,” Johnson said. “It’s been a long time coming. And it makes me very happy.”
Rob Field, MLB’s senior manager of global events, suggested using an all-Black umpire crew. Commissioner Rob Manfred, senior vice president of baseball operations Michael Hill, and the umpire’s union fully supported it.
The Black umpires were asked during their annual meeting in January. It was an immediate yes from everybody.
“To a man, immediately, we said yes,” Johnson said. “Myself and the other guys, we were honored to be asked to work this game.”
The league hopes the umpires will inspire Black umpires in the minors and potential umpires who one day might join the profession. The umpires working the game will certainly enjoy the moment of making baseball history.
Main Photo: © Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
