NEWARK, NJ — A baseball entrepreneur and a pioneer for women’s rights in the 1930s and 1940s will be honored with her own bobblehead doll as part of an effort to honor the legendary heroes of the Negro Leagues.

On Monday night, the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum announced that it will be producing the first-ever doll of Effa Manley, the only female member of the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.

The Effa Manley doll is part of a campaign from the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum, which recently partnered with the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum to produce a series of bobbleheads. The figurines pay tribute the league’s upcoming centennial anniversary in 2020; a Kickstarter campaign to fund the effort has raised about $40,000 from nearly 500 backers.

The collection will include legends such as Satchel Paige, Pete Hill, Bill Foster, Buck O’Neil, Cool Papa Bell, Josh Gibson, Roy Campanella and Smokey Joe Williams.

New Jersey players on the list include Larry Doby, Monte Irvin and Mule Suttles of the Newark Eagles.

A portion of the proceeds from the sale of each Negro Leagues bobblehead will go to the relatives of the Negro League players and the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum located in Kansas City, Missouri. The cost of producing the full series is estimated at more than $100,000, the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum stated.

According to the Baseball Hall of Fame, as a “businesswoman in a primarily man’s world,” Manley always wanted to be a winner.

“Though the only woman among an industry of male owners, Manley got her wish in 1946, when the Newark Eagles, owned by her and her husband Abe, won the Negro League World Series, defeating the famed Kansas City Monarchs. Her election to the National Baseball Hall of Fame as the institution’s first woman electee is a reflection of her commitment to baseball and civil rights, serving as a tribute to her leadership, vision and her dedication to creating respect for Negro leagues baseball… Often found at Yankee Stadium watching Babe Ruth, Manley dedicated her time to local social organizations and causes. For example, in 1935 she walked the picket line in a successful campaign to get local businesses to hire black employees, a ‘Don’t Buy Where You Can’t Work’ campaign.”

But perhaps Manley’s greatest contribution as an owner would come in her final years with the Eagles, the Hall of Fame states.

“Following Branch Rickey’s signing of Jackie Robinson from the Negro leagues to play Major League Baseball, Manley fought for compensation for team owners. A few months following Robinson’s entry into the major leagues in 1947, Manley and the Negro leagues received compensation for Larry Doby, the first African American to play in the American League, thereby establishing a precedent for player compensation. The move showed the legitimacy of the Negro leagues, giving the leagues a measure of respectability never before seen from the majors.”

Don’t forget to visit the Patch Newark Facebook page here. Learn more about posting announcements or events to your local Patch site here. Send local news tips and correction requests to [email protected]

Photos: National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum