Ford, who has also officiated basketball, was involved in two large controversies. During the 1981 season, he threatened to forfeit the second game of a White Sox-Angels doubleheader at Comiskey Park because of comments made by Chicago broadcaster Jimmy Piersall, which Ford said were inciting the 40,248 in attendance. In 1983 through union counsel Richie Phillips, Ford filed a lawsuit for an unspecified amount against Billy Martin for calling him “a stone liar” in an interview.
