So, they're making a limited series about my great-aunt, Effa Manley

[PunkinPi]

Limited Series About “Queen Of The Negro Leagues” Effa Manley In Works By Alcon; Anya Adams To Direct

EXCLUSIVE: The remarkable story of Effa Manley, the first and to-date only woman to be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, is headed to the screen.

Alcon Television Group has acquired the rights to baseball historian James Overmyer’s praised non-fiction novel Queen of the Negro Leagues: Effa Manley and the Newark Eagles. The company also has picked up the rights to Byron Motley (The Negro Baseball Leagues) and Jeffrey Miiller’s adaption of the material to use both as source material for a limited TV series titled The Eagles of Newark. Anya Adams (Black-ish, GLOW, Ginny & Georgia) is attached to direct the pilot. Search is underway for a showrunner. The producers also may attach on-screen talent before taking the project out.

The limited series will chronicle the dramatic efforts by tenacious civil rights activist Effa Manley and her husband Abe as they embark upon a risky business venture – starting their own ball club, the Newark Eagles, in the raucous world of the Negro Baseball Leagues. Effa Manley served as the team’s business manager.

“Effa Manley was a trailblazing woman and the passion she brought to everything she became involved in is deeply admirable to us,” said Alcon Television Group Co-Founders and Co-CEOs Broderick Johnson and Andrew Kosove. “We are thrilled at the opportunity to bring her historic story to life.”

Source, and more here -> https://deadline.com/2021/07/limited-series-queen-of-the-negro-leagues-novel-alcon-television-group-anya-adams-direct-1234783694/

I can't tell you how excited I am!!!

[DownriverDem]

1. Wow

Excellent! I'm not familiar with Alcon & hope I can see it.

[PunkinPi]

2. I'm not sure where one will be able to see it yet, but I'll post it when I find out.

I had been contacted by both Bob Luke (who wrote "The Most Famous Woman in Baseball: Effa Manley and the Negro Leagues" ) and Jim Overmyer regarding some details about Effa over the course of the last decade. Jim had mentioned there may be a film/series in the works and I'm so grateful to actually see it come to fruition.

[lark]

5. Yes, please do let us know.

This sounds like an interesting piece about a fascinating woman, with some neat sports history included.

[PunkinPi]

8. Will do. I know several years ago there had been talk of Penny Marshall directing a biopic about...

her, but sadly after Penny passed I wasn't sure that there was going to be anything.

[The Polack MSgt]

3. K&R

That's excellent PunkinPi

[PunkinPi]

4. Thanks! nt

[Richluu]

6. Fantastic!

I'm so glad she's getting her deserved tribute!

[PunkinPi]

9. Thank you, me too! nt

[Delmette2.0]

7. Awesome!

Yes! Keep us in the loop with progress reports.

[jmbar2]

10. I had never heard of this before - thanks for alerting us.

She sounds like a fascinating character. Can't wait to see it.

[blm]

11. 👍🏽

[sarchasm]

12. Awesome!

Play ball!

https://www.mlb.com/news/effa-manley-negro-leagues-pioneer

[ananda]

13. That is so kewl!

Congrats!

[Oppaloopa]

14. You got good genes

[H2O Man]

15. Recommended.

[malaise]

16. Fabulous

[PunkinPi]

19. Hey, malaise and thanks!

[malaise]

20. I'm thrilled for you

[PunkinPi]

22. Thanks very much -- it feels very surreal. Wish my dad could have been here for this.

[malaise]

23. For real but you'll celebrate for him

This is soooooooooooooo cool

[PunkinPi]

25. I absolutely will do!

[bucolic_frolic]

17. Wow

Great aunt would be sister of a grandparent, I think. Great aunts and uncles sound like someone far removed in the distant past, but often parents hung out with them, saw them at family occasions, were raised or babysat by them.

Digging deep we often know a lot about them! And their names are searchable on US census data, which can tell us where they lived, who their neighbors were. I discovered a 160 years ago g-g-g grandfather who lived beside a couple of the same occupation. We were confused by a nickname for a child of his ... until it matched the neigbor's wife.

[PunkinPi]

18. Yes, she is my dad's maternal aunt. And he did in fact know her and I believe he lived with her...

for a time as a kid. I never met her (I was about 4 yo when she passed), and I never met my grandparents (on either side), but I did meet one of her sisters (another great aunt to me).

My dad had nothing but the utmost admiration for her and he enjoyed talking about her. The only thing that makes me sad is that he isn't here to see this.

Ancestry is so interesting, and like you said, they can seem far removed, but not so in reality.

[3catwoman3]

21. Way cool!

Please do keep us informed. ⚾️

[IrishAfricanAmerican]

24. Awesome!

Can't wait to see it.

[intheflow]

26. Very cool! There's a picture book biography of her, too!

I'm a children's librarian and we have your aunt's biography. It's wonderful and I've read it to many children in storytimes over the years.


She loved baseball: the Effa Manley story
by Audrey Vernick

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7889493-she-loved-baseball?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=iX1pbKlFLg&rank=1

[PunkinPi]

27. Thanks for sharing. I had seen this book, but haven't read/purchased it yet.

I appreciate you passing her story along to the kids.

[Karadeniz]

28. I'm excited, too!!!

[burrowowl]

29. Wow!

[reACTIONary]

30. Great! K&R

[Demovictory9]

31. K&r. 👍👍👍

[djm5971]

32. This is awesome!

I've read about the Negro Leagues and seen a couple of movies (For the Soul of the Game is great) so I'm aware of Effa Manley's role. I can't wait for this to come out!