Zaharias, Babe Didrikson, << zuh HAIR ee uhs, bayb DIHD rihk suhn >> (1911-1956), is generally considered the greatest woman athlete in sports history. She gained her most enduring fame in golf and track and field. She also competed in basketball, baseball, pocket billiards, tennis, diving, and swimming. In a 1932 track and field meet, she set four world records in three hours. At the 1932 Olympic Games, she set world records in the 80-meter hurdles and the javelin throw. She also tied for the gold medal in the high jump but was disqualified on a technicality and given a silver medal.
Didrikson began concentrating on golf in the early 1930’s. Her style of play dramatically changed women’s golf. Her powerful swing, low scores, and showmanship attracted many new fans to the sport. She won the U.S. Women’s Amateur tournament in 1946. In 1946 and 1947, she won 17 tournaments in a row. Her victories during this period included the 1947 British Women’s Amateur. She was the first American to win this event. She turned professional in 1947. She was one of the founders of the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA). She won the U.S. Women’s Open in 1948, 1950, and 1954. The 1954 victory came a year after she had cancer surgery.
Loading the player...Babe Zaharias in 1948
Mildred Ella Didriksen was born in Port Arthur, Texas, on June 26, 1911. She later changed the spelling of her last name to Didrikson. She was nicknamed Babe after baseball slugger Babe Ruth because of the many home runs she hit playing baseball as a child. Didrikson married George Zaharias, a wrestler, in 1938. She died on Sept. 27, 1956. In 2021, Zaharias received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor awarded by the president of the United States.
