Ford was an umpire in the American League from 1974 until 1999 (wearing uniform number 20 when the AL adopted them in 1980) when he, along with several other umpires, was not retained by Major League Baseball following the 1999 Major League Umpires Association mass resignation.
During his umpiring career, umpire union leader and Philadelphia attorney Richie Phillips brought a lawsuit against New York Yankees manager Billy Martin when Martin stated that Ford was a "stone liar, someone I'll bet $100 doesn't know how to read."[REF]