Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

Williams, Andrea Baseball's Leading Lady: Effa Manley and the Rise and Fall of the Negro Leagues. Roaring Brook, 2021 illus. with photographs Trade ed. ISBN 9781250623720 $19.99 E-book ed. ISBN 9781250623737 $9.99 Reviewed from digital galleys R Gr. 6-10

Effa Manley, co-owner of the Negro National League Newark Eagles with her husband, Abe, is the focal point of this examination of the inner workings of Negro League baseball. As Williams demonstrates through her deep dive into its underexamined (at least in youth literature) organizational structures, the Negro Leagues brought pride to the Black community and launched its star players into the public spotlight but were ill-adapted to maintain relevance when Major League Baseball recognized the gold mine of Black fandom and deigned to integrate. Manley, the first woman voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, exerted influence beyond her untitled position with the club and league, and with her sharp business acumen she managed to make her Eagles financially solvent—a rarity among Negro League teams—at its Negro World Series winning height. She commands less of the spotlight in this title than might be expected, often upstaged by the colorfully rowdy rivalry of NLB team owners Gus Greenlee and Cumberland Posey. Williams credits Manley with understanding and resisting the coming dissolution of a post-integration Negro League as Black fans and a Black press, justifiably eager to celebrate individual Black major league players, would abandon the very community-building institution that [End Page 194] enabled their success. With a flair for bringing clarity and excitement to back office wheeling and dealing, Williams offers a potent complement to Nelson's We Are the Ship (BCCB 4/08). Source notes, bibliography, and black and white photos are included; an author's note an index will appear in the bound book.