Posted By:
Scott GrossI think Effa Manley falls into to "Tinker to Evers to Chance" name recognition category. If you gave the original list to a array of baseball fans (from obsessive to casual), and asked them to pick out a recognizable name and give a one sentence bio, the majority would say: "Effa Manley, she was a black businesswoman who owned a Negro League team." Hate to say it, but if not for this board, I (closer to the obsessive end of scale) would not know who Pete Hill is (please excuse dangling participle).
And ........ I have absolutely no problem with that. Name recognition is a (if not "the") fundamental part of business, and baseball is a business. Why is the HOF photo of Mrs. Manley a beautifully posed professional portrait? Because Mrs. Manley posed for a beautifully posed professional portrait. If it were not for self-promotion, we'd still just be playing pickup games every other Sunday at the Athletic Club of Philadelphia.