First woman among 17 elected to Baseball Hall of Fame
2/27/2006TAMPA, Fla. Effa Manley became the first woman elected to the baseball Hall of Fame when the former Newark Eagles executive was among 17 people from the Negro Leagues and pre-Negro Leagues chosen today by a special committee.
Manley co-owned the Eagles with her husband, Abe, and ran the business end of the team for more than a decade. The Eagles won the Negro Leagues World Series in 1946 one year before Jackie Robinson broke the major league color barrier.
Manley used the game to advance civil rights causes with events such as an Anti-Lynching Day at the ballpark. She died in 1981 at age 84.
Buck O Neil and Minnie Minoso, the only living members among the 39 candidates on the ballot, were not elected by the 12-person panel.
Mule Suttles and Biz Mackey were among the 12 players selected, along with five executives.
The new inductees will be enshrined with former reliever Bruce Sutter on July 30 in Cooperstown, N.Y. The new group brought the Hall s membership to 278.
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