Happy Birthday to baseball executive Effa Louise Manley (b. March 27, 1897), who co-owned and managed business operations for the Newark Eagles of the Negro National League. She also participated in civil rights events and demonstrations, herself serving as treasurer and board member for the Newark branch of the NAACP. At the ballpark, she worked to turn the Eagles into a point of pride, respect, and escape for Black Newark residents. Effa Manley is currently the only woman inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. In running the Eagles, she was directly involved in a wide range of baseball activities. This included contacting other teams about scheduling, arranging transportation, and even responding to players requesting tryouts. Indeed, on September 30, 1943, she wrote to an aspiring Eagle: “It is impossible for us to take every rookie to Training Camp who asks for a try-out, but if you know any one who is connected with the baseball and will recommend you, I will look into your case further. You did not mention your age, what position you played, how you batted or throwed.”
Recommended reading to learn more:
Citations: Bob Luke: The Most Famous Woman in Baseball: Effa Manley and the Negro Leagues (Washington, D.C.: Potomac Books, 2011, xi-xii; Effa Manley to Elmer Hardy, September 30, 1943, Newark Eagles Papers, Newark Public Library (Newark, NJ), https://archive.org/details/NewarkEagles0510017; Seanbarnett, “Plaque at the Hall of Fame,” photograph (Cooperstown, NY, October 15, 2021), Creative Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Effa_Manley_Plaque.jpg#/media/File:Effa_Manley_Plaque.jpg.
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