Effa Manley was posthumously inducted at Cooperstown's Induction Ceremony, confirming her status as the first woman enshrined in the Hall.
On July 30, 2006, Effa Manley was formally and posthumously inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame during the Hall's annual Induction Ceremony in Cooperstown, New York, alongside sixteen other honorees recognized for their contributions to Negro League and pre-Negro League baseball.
This induction confirmed Manley's status as the first, and to date only, woman enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame, a distinction she still holds. Her plaque recognizes her as co-owner and business manager of the Newark Eagles from 1936 to 1948, highlighting her role in building a championship franchise and her advocacy for players' rights during the tumultuous period of baseball's racial integration.
The induction ceremony drew significant national media coverage, framing Manley's enshrinement as a long-overdue correction to baseball's historical memory regarding both women and Black Americans. Her family members, along with baseball historians and Negro Leagues alumni, attended to honor her legacy twenty-five years after her death.
Manley's induction has had a lasting impact on how baseball history is told, ensuring that her contributions as an executive, strategist, and civil rights activist are permanently enshrined alongside the players and managers who dominate the sport's traditional narrative. Her enshrinement continues to inspire discussions about representation in sports leadership and the recovery of women's overlooked contributions to professional athletics.