Bob Motley, a 91-year-old from Kansas City, MO, is the last surviving umpire from Negro League baseball.
“Racial integration didn’t come to the major leagues until 1947, when Jackie Robinson broke the color line at first base for the Brooklyn Dodgers. But it was another 19 years before a black man, Emmett Ashford, appeared behind home plate. In the interim, black umpires called balls and strikes in the Negro League.”
Motley got his start as an umpire in the Marines — while on crutches, recovering from a gunshot wound.
Read and hear his unique story here on NPR. See a slide show and hear more related audio, too.
