Effa Manley

Effa Manley (March 27 1897 - April 16 1981) was an American sports executive and the first woman inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. She co-owned the Newark Eagles baseball franchise in the Negro Leagues with her husband Abe from 1935 to 1946, and was sole owner through 1948 after his death. Throughout that time she served as the team's business manager, and also fulfilled many of her husband's duties as treasurer of the Negro National League.

Early life

Manley was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her was white with Asian-Indian ancestry, her father was her mother's boss, , but she was raised by her Black stepfather and white mother, leading most to assume her stepfather was her biological father and therefore to classify her as Black. She married Abe Manley in 1935 after meeting him at a New York Yankees game, and he involved her extensively in the operation of his own club.

The Eagles

Abe had a desire to own a black baseball team, he and Effa purchased the She took over day-to-day business operations of the team, arranged playing schedules, planned the team’s travel, managed and met the payroll, bought the equipment, negotiated contracts, and handled publicity and promotions. Thanks to her rallying efforts, more than 185 VIPs—including New York Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia, who threw out the first pitch, and Charles C. Lockwood, justice of the Supreme Court of the State of New York—were on hand to watch the Eagles' inaugural game in 1935.

She worked to improve the condition of the players in the entire league. She advocated better scheduling, pay and accommodations. Her players traveled in a $15,000 air-conditioned Flexible Clipper bus, considered extravagant for the Negro Leagues.

Manley was active in many ways with her teams and involved herself in managerial decisions. However, Effa's dalliances with players were not well received by husband Abe. The story goes that when he found out of her affair with cocky, flashy-dressing, diamond-sporting pitcher "Speed" McDuffie, Manley swapped the hurler to the New York Black Yankees on the spot-for two old bats and a pair of used sliding pads.

With her sale of Monte Irvin to the New York Giants in 1949, she established the precedent that the contracts of the Negro League clubs should be respected by major-league owners.

She displayed particular skill in the area of marketing, and often scheduled promotions which advanced the civil rights movement. Her most noteworthy success was the Eagles' victory in the Negro League World Series in 1946.

Reputation

"She was unique and effervescent and knowledgeable," says Monte Irvin, the Hall of Famer who played shortstop and outfield for the Newark Eagles, the Negro League team Manley co-owned with her husband, Abe. "She ran the whole business end of the team.

Several stories about her have become part of Negro League folklore. One such tale is of her demanding that Terris McDuffie be the starting pitcher for a certain game because she wanted to show him off the women of her social club. Another had her giving signs to players by crossing and uncrossing her legs to signal bunts.

"People say, 'Don't live in the past,'" Manley said. "But I guess it depends on how interesting your past is."

Social Activism

Manley was also a social activist. As part of her work for the Citizens' League for Fair Play, Manley organized a 1934 boycott of a Harlem stores that refused to hire black salesclerks. After six weeks, the owners of the stores give in, and a year later, 300 stores on 125th Street employed blacks.

Manley was the treasurer of the Newark chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and often used Eagles games to promote civic causes.

In 1939, Manley held an "Anti-Lynching Day" at Ruppert Stadium. Manley's social activism was reflected in her work for the Newark Chapter of the NAACP and the Citizens' League for Fair Play.

For the latter, Manley organized a 1934 boycott of Harlem stores that refused to hire black clerks. After six weeks, the owners of the stores gave in, and a year later, all 300 stores on 125th Street employed African-Americans.

Later life

Until her death in April 1981 at the age of 81, Manley devoted herself to keeping the history of Negro League baseball alive. In 1976 she published "Negro Baseball ... before Integration," which listed 73 players she felt were qualified for the Baseball Hall of Fame. She wrote numerous letters to the Baseball Hall of Fame and publications such as The Sporting News, urging recognition for the league and its players. The Hall of Fame enshrined 11 players from the Negro Leaguers in 1973. And in 1985, the Hall of Fame added an exhibit on black baseball. Her photo is prominently displayed in the exhibit.

Among the Eagles players during her ownership were future major league stars such as Larry Doby, Monte Irvin and Don Newcombe.

In an interview a few years before her death, Manley talked of the joy she received from reminiscing about her days in with the Negro Leagues, relived in part through her extensive scrapbook which now is displayed at the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Effa Manley died at age 84 in Los Angeles, California. She was buried on Saturday, April 25, 1981, at the Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, CA. Her gravestone reads “She Loved Baseball.” She was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in February 2006.

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• Dixon, Phil, and Hannigan, Patrick J. The Negro Baseball Leagues A Photographic History, Ameron House Publishing, 1992. ISBN 0-88488-0425-2
• Manley, Effa, Leon H. Hardwick. Negro Baseball...before Integration, Saint Johann Press, 2006. ISBN 978-1878282446
• Overmyer, James. Queen of the Negro Leagues : Effa Manley and the Newark Eagles, The Scarecrow Press, 1998. ISBN 978-1578860012
• ______________. Effa Manley and the Newark Eagles, Scarecrow Pr, 1993. ISBN 978-0810827035

External links

• The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum www.baseballhalloffame.org

Template:2006 Baseball HOF

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