Woman of the Month

November- Effa Manley

Effa Manley was born on March 27, 1900 in Philadelphia Pennsylvania. Manley was an American sports executive and she was also the first woman inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Manley co-owned the Newark Eagles baseball franchise in the Negro Leagues with her husband from 1935 to 1946. After her husband's death she was the sole owner of the Newark Eagles through 1948 and became the only female owner in the history of the Negro Leagues. One of her most noteworthy accomplishments was the Eagles' Negro League World Series victory in 1946. Manley was seen as a pioneer in breaking down racial barriers in baseball.

Manley was a social activist and also fairly active with the black civil rights movement. Manley organized a 1934 boycott of a Harlem store that refused to hire black salesclerks. A year later 300 stores on 125th Street employed african americans. Manley was the treasurer of the Newark chapter of the NAACP. Manley passed at the age of 84 in Los Angeles, California.