The Hall of Fame's special Committee on African American Baseball elected Effa Manley, making her the first woman ever elected.
On February 27, 2006, the National Baseball Hall of Fame's special Committee on African American Baseball elected Effa Manley for induction, making her the first woman ever elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in its history, dating back to its founding in 1936.
This election was part of a landmark vote that saw the special committee elect seventeen individuals connected to Negro League baseball history in a single sweeping recognition of long-overlooked contributors to the sport. Manley's selection specifically recognized her pioneering role as co-owner and business manager of the Newark Eagles, where she combined shrewd baseball operations with tireless civil rights advocacy.
Her election was historically monumental because it broke a seven-decade barrier in one of America's most storied and traditionally male-dominated institutions. It validated not only her individual contributions, such as building championship teams and fighting for fair player compensation during MLB's integration, but also symbolically honored the broader, often invisible, contributions of women to professional baseball's front offices.
The vote generated significant media attention and renewed public interest in Manley's remarkable career, prompting new biographies, documentaries, and academic study of her life. It underscored a growing movement within American sports institutions to correct historical omissions regarding both race and gender in the recognition of baseball's builders and pioneers.