BASEBALL’S FORGOTTEN FORERUNNER
Manley, only female in Hall of Fame, and Negro League owner, was pioneer
The Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown is full of great players whose names roll off your tongue.
Ruth, Cobb, Aaron, Mays, Koufax, Gibson.
Then there are those left out due to some form of indiscretion.
Pete Rose, “Shoeless Joe” Jackson, A-Rod, Bonds and Clemens.
And then there is Effa Louise Manley.
She is the only woman inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Manley was in the 2006 class along with closer Bruce Sutter and 17 stars of the Negro Leagues, including catcher/manager Biz Mackey (lifetime .322 hitter and a mentor to 15-year old-Roy Campanella), first baseman Mule Suttles (hit over .300 thirteen times) and centerfielder Cristobal Torriente (lifetime .339 hitter).
Born in Philadelphia, Manley wasn’t the only owner from the Negro Leagues to enter the Hall in 2006. Her fellow owners included Alex Pompez (Cuban Stars East and New York Giants), Cum Posey (Homestead Grays) and J.L. Wilkinson (All Nations and Kansas City Monarchs).
Manley was the owner of the Newark Eagles from 1935-48 winning the Negro World Series in 1946.
When you think of women in baseball, you probably think either of racist nut job Marge Schott, former owner of the Cincinnati Reds, or the elegant pitcher Mo’ne Davis from the 2014 Little League World Series. She’s a college senior now and plays softball for Hampton University, an HBCU.
But more and more women have joined America’s pastime on and off the field.
In 2019 Raquel Ferreira was promoted to executive Vice President/ Assistant General Manager of the Boston Red Sox joining Elaine Weddington Steward (General Counsel) in the front office; Kim Ng has been the general manager of the Miami Marlins since 2020; and Rachel Balkovec manages the Yankees Low-A Tampa Tarpons affiliate.
Gretchen Aucoin is Complex League Rehab Hitting Coach with the Low-A St. Lucie Mets and Liz Benn is the team’s Director of Major League Operations.
Strides for women are even happening Down Under. Eighteen-yearold lefty Genevieve Beacom, who stands six-foot-two, made headlines in 2022 by becoming the first woman to play in the Australian Baseball League (throwing a scoreless inning). She hopes to play collegiate baseball in the United States this year.
Women are continuing to leave their mark, but listen to Bob Kendrick, president of the Negro Leagues Museum in Kansas City, MO, and don’t forget those Black women owners that came first.
“There was Olivia Taylor who ran the (Indianapolis Clowns) after (her husband) C.I. Taylor passed,” said Kendrick. She became the first woman to own a Negro League franchise. “There was Minnie Forbes who ran the Detroit Stars (at age 24; still alive at age 90), and of course, Effa Manley.”
Manley was co-owner of the Newark Eagles along with her Harlem businessman husband Abe Manley. The Eagles captured their only World Series championship the year before Jackie Robinson broke baseball’s color barrier.
Manley put together a team that had its own distinct Murderers’ Row.
“We’re talking about Monte Irvin, Larry Doby, Leon Day, Willie Wells, (manager) Biz Mackey,” declared Kendrick, rattling off the names, all inducted into the Hall of Fame. “Don Newcombe was on that team, and he should be in the Hall.”
Manley was ahead of her time as her players traveled in an air-conditioned bus and was overly protective of her players.
Branch Rickey of the Brooklyn Dodgers saw a way to make money and break the color barrier in Major League Baseball by raiding the Negro Leagues of its talent – without compensation.
“Rickey tried to sign Monte Irvin in 1944 and Effa Manley threatened to litigate,” recalled Kendrick. “He didn’t need that fight, so she blocked it. Monte was just coming back from the war and was naturally upset, but he felt like he needed some time to get his legs underneath him and his head right to take on his opportunity.
“Effa Manley was vehemently opposed to allow a Rickey to come in and take her ball players,” declared Kendrick. “So, she fought him off and that’s when Rickey turned his sights to Jackie Robinson.”
She was also a shrewd deal maker.
Bill Veeck, owner of the Cleveland Indians, came a-calling for Larry Doby just weeks after Robinson broke the color barrier.
“He offers Effa Manley a pittance of five thousand dollars and says to Mr. Veeck, ‘If Larry Doby was white, he’d be worth a hundred thousand dollars or more. I know that I’m not going to be able to fight you off much longer, but if you think five thousand dollars is fair, I guess I have no choice but to take it.’” stated Kendrick with a chuckle.
“Veeck comes back and counter offers with an additional five thousand dollars to her and a five thousand dollar signing bonus for Larry Doby if he makes the team,” said Kendrick. “That is what ultimately sets the stage for other Negro League owners to start selling their players to the Major Leagues. That’s all Effa Manley.”
And what did Manley do with the additional five grand?
“She went out and got herself a mink coat. It was her way to rub it in (Branch Rickey’s face),” said Kendrick.
The Negro Leagues ceased in 1960, but Manley was also a civil rights activist.
“She used her ballpark, Ruppert Stadium (located in the Ironbound section of Newark), to hold ‘Anti-Lynching Nights,’” recalled Kendrick, “and she was also a big part of the ‘Don’t Shop Where You Can’t Work’ movement in Newark that helped get store clerks jobs.”
Manley’s legacy isn’t just balls and strikes.
“She was instrumental both on and off the field,” declared Kendrick about the pioneer who passed on April 16, 1981 in Los Angeles at the age of 84. “This is important that people understand who Effa Manley was and her significant contributions not only to our sport, but really to society.”