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Senator Blunt To Retire | 'Baseball's Leading Lady'

Missouri Sen. Roy Blunt addresses reporters on Monday at Springfield-Branson National Airport after announcing he would not seek reelection next year.
Jennifer Moore
/
KSMU
Missouri Sen. Roy Blunt addresses reporters on March 8, 2021 at Springfield-Branson National Airport after announcing he would not seek reelection next year.

Missouri's senior senator will not seek re-election in 2022 and baseball pioneer Effa Manley had some notable firsts in her career.

Segment 1, beginning at 00:59: With Monday's announcement, U.S. Senator Roy Blunt ends a political career that started as a county clerk in 1973.

The senator's decision not to run again sent shockwaves through political circles in his home state of Missouri and in Washington, D.C. The race to replace him could be a major determinant of the political direction for the Show Me State and the Republican Party.

Segment 2, beginning at 28:03: Effa Manley's achievements as the first woman to own a professional baseball team led to her becoming the first woman inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Effa Manley turned her love of baseball into owning the Newark Eagles of the Negro Leagues and managing them to the league's 1946 championship. With the entry of Jackie Robinson into Major League Baseball the following year, the Negro Leagues were doomed. Even after selling her team, though, Manley continued to be a voice advocating for Black players and owners.

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