Baseball's Leading Lady
Effa Manley and the Rise and Fall of the Negro Leagues

Name: Baseball's Leading Lady
Brand: Dreamscape Media
Availability: InStock
Author: Andrea Williams
ISBN: 9781666646436

Author: Andrea Williams

Narrator: Deanna Anthony

Unabridged: 5 hr 31 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Dreamscape Media

Published: 09/12/2023

Categories: Children's Nonfiction, Biographical, African American & Black Nonfiction, Sports, Baseball & Softball

Synopsis

Before Jackie Robinson broke Major League Baseball's color barrier in 1947, Negro Leagues Baseball was the only game in town for black athletes. And those leagues owed their existence and success to savvy businesspeople like Effa Manley, the black female co-owner of the Newark Eagles. Effa was the team's business manager, leading her team to win the Negro World Series in 1946. But this victory was bittersweet: Integration was on its way, and the demise of the Negro Leagues would soon follow. In this riveting nonfiction account, author Andrea Williams weaves the parallel stories of the segregated leagues with the tale of an inspiring woman who was at the center of it all.

About Andrea Williams

Andrea Williams is an author, a journalist, and an editor. As a journalist, her work has been published across various outlets, including Mediabistro, CNNMoney, and Conde Nast Traveler. Before turning to full-time writing, she worked in marketing and development for the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in her hometown of Kansas City, Missouri. She now lives and writes in Nashville, Tennessee, with her husband and children.

About Deanna Anthony

Deanna Anthony is a classically trained singer, actress, and audiobook narrator. A former beauty queen, she has performed in over fifty regional and international theaters. When not working, she enjoys quilting and sewing, reading romance, and enjoying home-cooked meals and baked treats.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Sharon on December 14, 2023

Andrea Williams does an outstanding job with the biography of Effa Manley in Baseball's Leading Lady: Effa Manley and the Rise and Fall of the Negro Leagues. I listened to it on audiobook which was excellently narrated by Deanna Anthony with fabulous intonation and inspiration. Effa Manley and her hu......more

Goodreads review by Bethany (Beautifully Bookish Bethany) on March 07, 2021

Baseball's Leading Lady is a fantastic nonfiction title, if not entirely what I was expecting. While the eponymous Effa Manly is a central thread in the narrative, this is less a biography than a broader exploration of the history of Black baseball, leading to the early stages of integration with th......more

Goodreads review by Nikki on February 07, 2021

It's everything I love in a non-fiction. Underdogs, women breaking the glass ceiling and, shockingly, lesser known sports history. This was beautifully written and entirely engaging. It covers the history of Black baseball; the struggles, the triumphs, and Effa Manley's important role in it all. I hig......more

Goodreads review by Allison on February 03, 2021

This book is essential reading for any baseball fan. I learned so, so much from it.......more

Goodreads review by Hoover Public Library on March 24, 2021

This true story of Effa Manley, the first and only woman inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, also reveals the intersection of business, sports, and race in early 20th century America.......more

Quotes

A smart and determined woman becomes an unlikely influence in baseball’s Negro Leagues . . . A fascinating contribution to baseball and racial history.