Wednesday, 04 December 2024

Effa Manley

Contest: The US Athletic Hall of Fame - Contributors 2024
Embed from Getty Images
Sport(s): Baseball Executive
Statistics: 1 Negro League World Series Championship (1946)
Member of the Baseball Hall of Fame
Effa Manley grew up with her black stepfather and her mother, who may have been German. Manley looked white, and her ethnic background is ambiguous, but for all intents and purposes, she grew up black, married a black man, and was a proponent of civil rights.

Her husband was Abe Manley, and the two co-owned the Newark Eagles of the Negro Leagues. Effa was the workhorse of the organization, who would come to run almost every aspect of day-to-day operations. Manley would advocate for not just her players but for all Negro League players to receive better pay and improved working conditions.

Manley was an expert marketer whose work in the Newark area made the Eagles one of the top draws in the area. She used her platform to combat racism where she could, namely supporting the "Don't Buy Where You Can't Work" boycotts.

When players began to leave for the Majors, Manley was outspoken in that the Negro League clubs should receive financial compensation. She was equally critical when former Negro League players made it to the Majors and said disparaging words about the Negro Leagues. This included Jackie Robinson, who once said that the Negro Leagues were disorganized, to which Manley was quick to remind Robinson not to forget the contributions of the Negro Leagues and how it helped his career.

To date, Manley is the only woman inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

We are proud to nominate Effa Manley for the United States Athletic Hall of Fame.

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