How the Only Woman in Baseball Hall of Fame Challenged Convention—and MLB

UPDATED: MAY 23, 2023 | ORIGINAL SEPTEMBER 2, 2021

EFFA MANLEY VISITS WITH ONE OF HER FORMER PLAYERS, DON NEWCOMBE, IN 1973. / HAROLD FILAN/AP PHOTO

Effa Manley, the only woman in the National Baseball Hall of Fame, was an advocate for Black athletes, a passionate supporter of baseball in the Negro leagues, a champion for civil rights and equality…and far ahead of her time.

In an era when few women were involved in sports management, Manley was the do-everything business manager for the Newark Eagles of the Negro National League. In the 1930s and ’40s, when she and her husband owned a Negro League team, she challenged fellow owners, who were all male. Later, she confronted Major League Baseball, pushing it to recognize Negro League players, who had been ignored by the Hall of Fame.

And her belief in herself was unwavering.

Kim Ng, the only female general manager in Major League Baseball, draws inspiration from the largely unheralded figure from an era when people of color faced rampant discrimination and women dealt with overt sexism.