Mildred Ella "Babe" Didrikson Zaharias (; Didrikson; June 26, 1911 – September 27, 1956) was an American athlete who excelled in
golf
Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible.
Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping ...
,
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...
,
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...
and
track and field
Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...
. She won two gold medals in track and field at the
1932 Summer Olympics, before turning to professional golf and winning 10
LPGA major championships.
Biography
Mildred Ella Didrikson was born on June 26, 1911,
[ the sixth of seven children, in the coastal ]city
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
of Port Arthur, Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
. Her mother, Hannah, and her father, Ole Didriksen, were immigrants from Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...
. Although her three eldest siblings were born in Norway, Babe and her three other siblings were born in Port Arthur. She later changed the spelling of her surname from Didriksen to Didrikson. She moved with her family to 850 Doucette in Beaumont, Texas, at age 4. She claimed to have acquired the nickname "Babe" (after Babe Ruth
George Herman "Babe" Ruth Jr. (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Su ...
) upon hitting five home run
In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...
s in a childhood baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...
game, but her Norwegian mother had called her "Bebe" from the time she was a toddler.
Though best known for her athletic gifts, Didrikson had many talents. She also competed in sewing. An excellent seamstress
A dressmaker, also known as a seamstress, is a person who makes custom clothing for women, such as dresses, blouses, and evening gowns. Dressmakers were historically known as mantua-makers, and are also known as a modiste or fabrician.
Not ...
, she made many of her clothes, including her golfing outfits. She claimed to have won the sewing championship at the 1931 State Fair of Texas
The State Fair of Texas is an annual state fair held in Dallas at historic Fair Park. The fair has taken place every year since 1886 except for varying periods during World War I and World War II as well as 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It ...
in Dallas
Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
; she did win the South Texas State Fair in Beaumont, embellishing the story many years later in 1953. She attended Beaumont High School. Never a strong student, she was forced to repeat the eighth grade and was a year older than her classmates. She eventually dropped out without graduating after she moved to Dallas to play basketball. She was a singer and a harmonica player and recorded several songs on the Mercury Records
Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it i ...
label. Her biggest seller was "I Felt a Little Teardrop" with "Detour" on the flip side.
Already famous as Babe Didrikson, she married George Zaharias
Theodore Vetoyanis ( el, Θεόδωρος Βετογιάνης, February 27, 1908 – May 22, 1984) was an American professional wrestler and sports promoter known by his ring name George Zaharias. He was also popularly known as "The Crying Greek ...
(1908–1984), a professional wrestler
Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat spor ...
, in St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
, on December 23, 1938. Thereafter, she was largely known as Babe Didrikson Zaharias or Babe Zaharias. The two met while playing golf. George Zaharias, a Greek American
Greek Americans ( el, Ελληνοαμερικανοί ''Ellinoamerikanoí'' ''Ellinoamerikánoi'' ) are Americans of full or partial Greek ancestry. The lowest estimate is that 1.2 million Americans are of Greek descent while the highest e ...
, was a native of Pueblo, Colorado
Pueblo () is a home rule municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Pueblo County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 111,876 at the 2020 United States Census, making Pueblo the ninth most populo ...
. Called the "Crying Greek from Cripple Creek", Zaharias also did some part-time acting, appearing in the 1952 movie ''Pat and Mike
''Pat and Mike'' is a 1952 American romantic comedy film starring Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn. The movie was written by Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin, and directed by George Cukor. Cukor directed '' The Philadelphia Story'' (1940) with H ...
''. The Zahariases had no children. They were rebuffed by authorities when they sought to adopt.
Athletic achievements
Didrikson gained world fame in track and field
Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...
and All-America
The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...
n status in basketball. She played organized baseball and softball and was an expert diver, roller-skater, and bowler.
AAU champion
Didrikson's first job after high school was as a secretary for the Employers' Casualty Insurance Company of Dallas, though she was employed only in order to play basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...
as an amateur on the company's "industrial team", the Golden Cyclones The Golden Cyclones were a 1930s group of women athletes who played Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) softball, basketball and track-and-field. Based in Dallas, Texas they were sponsored by the Employers Casualty Insurance Company (ECC) and coached by "C ...
. As a side note, the competition was then governed by the Amateur Athletic Union
The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an amateur sports organization based in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. It h ...
(AAU). Despite leading the team to an AAU Basketball Championship in 1931, Didrikson had first achieved wider attention as a track and field athlete.
Representing her company in the 1932 AAU Championships, she competed in eight out of ten events, winning five outright, and tying for first in a sixth. Didrikson's performances were enough to win the team championship, despite her being the sole member of her team.[
]
1932 Olympics
Didrikson set four world records, winning two gold medals and one silver medal for track and field in the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics. In the 80-meter hurdles, she equaled the world record of 11.8 seconds in her opening heat. In the final, she broke her record with an 11.7 clocking, taking gold. In the javelin, she also won gold with an Olympic record throw of 43.69 meters. In the high jump, she took silver with a world record-tying leap of . Fellow American Jean Shiley
Jean Shiley Newhouse (November 20, 1911 – March 11, 1998) was an American high jumper. She was born Jean Shiley in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and later moved to Havertown, Pennsylvania, Havertown, a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Philadel ...
also jumped 1.657 metres, and the pair tied in a jump-off when the bar was raised to . Shiley was awarded the gold after Didrikson was ruled to have used an improper technique.[ She did not compete in the discus throw, as fellow American ]Lillian Copeland
Lillian Copeland (born Lillian Drossin; November 24, 1904 – July 7, 1964) was an American track and field Olympic champion athlete, who excelled in discus, javelin throwing, and shot put, setting multiple world records. She has been called ...
beat her out in the Olympic trials; Copeland went on to win the gold medal in discus.["Lillian Copeland,"](_blank)
Olympics.com.
Didrikson is the only track and field athlete, male or female, to win individual Olympic medals in separate running, throwing and jumping events.
Post-Olympics
In the following years, she performed on the vaudeville circuit
Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...
, traveled with teams like Babe Didrikson's All-Americans basketball team and the bearded House of David (commune)
The House of David (formally The Israelite House of David) is a religious group founded in Benton Harbor, Michigan, in March 1903. It was co-founded by spouses Benjamin Purnell (1861-1927) and Mary Purnell (1862-1953). The Purnells claimed to be ...
team. Didrikson was also a competitive pocket billiards
Pool is a classification of cue sports played on a table with six pockets along the , into which balls are deposited. "Pool billiards" is sometimes hyphenated and/or spelled with a singular "billiard". The WPA itself uses "pool-billiard" in ...
(pool) player, though not a champion. She was noted in the January 1933 press for playing (and badly losing) a multi-day straight pool match in New York City against female Ruth McGinnis.
Golf
By 1935, Didrikson began to play golf
Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible.
Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping ...
, a latecomer to the sport in which she became best known. Shortly thereafter, she was denied amateur status, and so, in January 1938, she competed in the Los Angeles Open
The Genesis Invitational is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour in southern California, first played in 1926 as the Los Angeles Open. Other previous names include Genesis Open, Northern Trust Open and Nissan Open. Played annually in ...
, a PGA (Professional Golfers' Association) tournament. No other woman competed against men in this tournament until Annika Sörenstam
Annika Charlotta Sörenstam (; born 9 October 1970) is a Swedish professional golfer. She is regarded as one of the best female golfers in history. Before stepping away from competitive golf at the end of the 2008 season, she had won 90 intern ...
, Suzy Whaley, Michelle Wie
Michelle Sung Wie West (; born October 11, 1989) is an American professional golfer who plays on the LPGA Tour. At age 10, she became the youngest player to qualify for a USGA amateur championship. Wie also became the youngest winner of the U.S ...
and Brittany Lincicome almost six decades later. She shot 81 and 84, and missed the cut. In the tournament, she was teamed with George Zaharias. They were married eleven months later, and settled in Tampa, Florida
Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...
, on the premises of a golf course that they purchased in 1951.
Didrikson became America's first female golf celebrity and the leading player of the 1940s and early 1950s. In order to regain amateur status in the sport, she could compete in no other sports for three years. She gained back her amateur status in 1942. In 1945, she had participated in three more PGA Tour events, missing the second cut of the first of them, and making the cut of the other two; as of 2018, she remains the only woman to have achieved this. Zaharias won the 1946 U.S. Women's Amateur and the 1947 British Ladies Amateur
The Women's Amateur Championship, previously known as the Ladies' British Open Amateur Championship, was founded in 1893 by the Ladies' Golf Union. It is organised by The R&A, which merged with the Ladies' Golf Union in 2017. Until the dawn of th ...
– the first American to do so – and three Women's Western Open
The Women's Western Open was an American professional golf tournament founded in 1930. The LPGA was established in 1950, and it recognized the Western Open as one of its major championships through 1967. All of the events back to 1930 have been d ...
s. Having formally turned professional in 1947, Didrikson dominated the Women's Professional Golf Association and later the Ladies Professional Golf Association
The word ''lady'' is a term for a girl or woman, with various connotations. Once used to describe only women of a high social class or status, the equivalent of lord, now it may refer to any adult woman, as gentleman can be used for men. Infor ...
. She was a founding member of the Ladies Professional Golf Association, in 1950. Serious illness ended her career in the mid-1950s.
Zaharias won a tournament named after her, the Babe Zaharias Open of her hometown of Beaumont, Texas. She won the 1947 Titleholders Championship
The Titleholders Championship was a women's golf tournament played from in 1937 to 1966 and again in 1972. It was later designated a major championship by the LPGA Tour.
History
The Titleholders Championship was founded in 1937. Like the Masters ...
and the 1948 U.S. Women's Open
The U.S. Women's Open, one of 15 national golf championships conducted by the United States Golf Association (USGA), is the oldest of the LPGA Tour's five major championships, which includes the Chevron Championship, Women's PGA Championship, W ...
for her fourth and fifth major championships. She won 17 straight women's amateur victories, a feat never equaled by anyone. By 1950, she had won every golf title available. Totaling both her amateur and professional victories, Zaharias won a total of 82 golf tournaments.
Charles McGrath of ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' wrote of Zaharias, "Except perhaps for Arnold Palmer
Arnold Daniel Palmer (September 10, 1929 – September 25, 2016) was an American professional golfer who is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most charismatic players in the sport's history. Dating back to 1955, he won numerous ev ...
, no golfer has ever been more beloved by the gallery."[
]
Golf awards
While Zaharias missed the cut in the 1938 PGA Tour
The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also ...
event, later, as she became more experienced, she made the cut in every PGA Tour event she entered. In January 1945, Zaharias played in three PGA tournaments. She shot 76–76 to qualify for the Los Angeles Open
The Genesis Invitational is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour in southern California, first played in 1926 as the Los Angeles Open. Other previous names include Genesis Open, Northern Trust Open and Nissan Open. Played annually in ...
. She then shot 76–81 to make the two-day cut in the tournament itself, but missed the three-day cut after a 79, making her the first (and currently only) woman in history to make the cut in a regular PGA Tour event. She continued her cut streak at the Phoenix Open
The Phoenix Open (branded as the WM Phoenix Open for sponsorship reasons) is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour, held in late January/early February at TPC Scottsdale in Scottsdale, Arizona.
The tournament was originally the Arizona ...
, where she shot 77-72-75-80, finishing in 33rd place.[ At the ]Tucson Open
The Tucson Open was a golf tournament in Arizona on the PGA Tour from 1945 to 2006, played annually in the winter in Tucson. It was last held at the Omni Tucson National Golf Resort in late February, with a $3 million purse and a $540,000 winner ...
, she qualified by shooting 74-81 and then shot a 307 in the tournament and finished tied for 42nd.[ Unlike other female golfers competing in men's events, she got into the Los Angeles and Tucson Opens through 36-hole qualifiers, as opposed to a sponsor's exemption.]
In 1948, she became the first woman to attempt to qualify for the U.S. Open, but her application was rejected by the USGA
The United States Golf Association (USGA) is the United States national association of golf courses, clubs and facilities and the governing body of golf for the U.S. and Mexico. Together with The R&A, the USGA produces and interprets the rules ...
. They stated that the event was intended to be open to men only.
Baseball
In March 1934, Didrikson pitched a total of four innings in three Major League spring training exhibition games:
* On March 20 she gave up one walk
Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined by an ' inverted pendulum' gait in which the body vaults ...
and no hits in one inning for the Philadelphia Athletics against the Brooklyn Dodgers.[
* On March 22 she pitched the first inning for the ]St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...
against the Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...
. It was reported that "Under tutelage of Burleigh Grimes
Burleigh Arland Grimes (August 18, 1893 – December 6, 1985) was an American professional baseball player and manager, and the last pitcher officially permitted to throw the spitball. Grimes made the most of this advantage, as well as his unshav ...
, Dizzy Dean
Jay Hanna "Dizzy" Dean (January 16, 1910 – July 17, 1974), also known as Jerome Herman Dean (both the 1910 and 1920 Censuses show his name as "Jay"), was an American professional baseball pitcher. During his Major League Baseball (MLB) career ...
, and others she has learned to stand on the rubber
Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Thailand, Malaysia, an ...
, wind up like a big leaguer and throw a rather fair curve
In mathematics, a curve (also called a curved line in older texts) is an object similar to a line, but that does not have to be straight.
Intuitively, a curve may be thought of as the trace left by a moving point. This is the definition that ...
." The Red Sox scored three runs against Didrikson in the inning before she got Boston third baseman Bucky Walters
William Henry "Bucky" Walters (April 19, 1909 – April 20, 1991) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1931 to 1950. He was a six-time All-Star and the 1939 National League Most Valuable Player ...
to fly out
In baseball, the rules state that a batted ball is considered in flight when it has not yet touched any object other than a fielder or his equipment. Such a ball can be caught by a fielder to put the batter out.
Once a batted ball touches the g ...
to future Hall of Famer
A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actual halls or muse ...
Joe Medwick
Joseph Michael Medwick (November 24, 1911 – March 21, 1975), nicknamed "Ducky" and "Muscles", was an American Major League Baseball player. A left fielder with the St. Louis Cardinals during the " Gashouse Gang" era of the 1930s, he also pla ...
in left field to end the inning. She was relieved at the start of the second inning by Cardinal pitcher Bill Hallahan
William Anthony Hallahan (August 4, 1902 – July 8, 1981) was an American left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball during the 1920s and 1930s. Nicknamed "Wild Bill" because of his lack of control on the mound—he twice led the National Leag ...
. 400 fans were in attendance.
* On March 25 she played for the New Orleans Pelicans against the Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...
, pitching two scoreless innings and lining out in her only plate
Plate may refer to:
Cooking
* Plate (dishware), a broad, mainly flat vessel commonly used to serve food
* Plates, tableware, dishes or dishware used for setting a table, serving food and dining
* Plate, the content of such a plate (for example: ...
appearance.
Didrikson also spent time with the House of David barnstorming team and is still recognized as the world record holder for the farthest baseball throw by a woman.
Last years and death
Zaharias had her greatest year in 1950 when she completed the Grand Slam
Grand Slam most often refers to:
* Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves
Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to:
Games and sports
* Grand slam, winning category te ...
of the three women's majors of the day: the U.S. Open, the Titleholders Championship, and the Women's Western Open, a feat that made her the leader on the money list that year. Also that year, she reached 10 wins faster than any other LPGA golfer, doing so in one year and 20 days, a record that still stands. She was the leading money-winner again in 1951, and in 1952 took another major with a Titleholders victory, but illness prevented her from playing a full schedule in 1952–53. This did not stop her from becoming the fastest player to reach 20 wins (two years and four months).
She was a close friend of fellow golfer Betty Dodd
Elizabeth Hobart Dodd (April 11, 1931 – July 8, 1993) was an American professional golfer who played on the LPGA Tour.
Dodd was born in Portland, Oregon, in 1931 to General Francis and Margaret Dodd. She began the game of golf at age 11 in 1 ...
. According to Susan Cayleff
Susan Cayleff (born 1954) is an American academic and emeritus professor at San Diego State University, having taught there from 1987 to 2020. She was one the inaugural members of the National Women's Studies Association Lesbian Caucus and served ...
's biography ''Babe,'' Dodd was quoted as saying, "I had such admiration for this fabulous person aharias I loved her. I would have done anything for her." They met in a 1950 amateur golf tournament in Miami and became close almost immediately. Cayleff wrote, "As Didrikson's marriage grew increasingly troubled, she spent more time with Dodd. The women toured together on the golf circuit, and eventually Dodd moved in with Zaharias and Didrikson for the last six years of Didrikson's life." They never used the word " lesbian" to describe their relationship, but there is little doubt that their relationship was both sexual and romantic[ and Zaharias has been described as the first lesbian gold medallist in Olympic athletics.
In 1953 Zaharias was diagnosed with colon cancer. After undergoing surgery, she made a comeback in 1954. She took the ]Vare Trophy
The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) is an American organization for female golfers. The organization is headquartered at the LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Florida, and is best known for running the LPGA Tour, a series of week ...
for lowest scoring average, her only win of that trophy, and her 10th and final major with a U.S. Women's Open championship, one month after the surgery and while wearing a colostomy bag. With this win, she became the second-oldest woman to win a major LPGA championship tournament (behind Fay Crocker
Fay Crocker (2 August 1914 – 16 September 1983) was a Uruguayan professional golfer who played on the LPGA Tour. In her career, she won 11 LPGA tournaments, including two major championships, the 1955 U.S. Women's Open and 1960 Titleholde ...
). Babe Zaharias now stands third to Crocker and Sherri Steinhauer
Sherri Steinhauer (born December 27, 1962) is an American professional golfer who plays on the Legends Tour. She retired from the LPGA Tour in 2012 after a 26-year career. She was born in Madison, Wisconsin and attended The University of Texas a ...
. These wins made her the fastest player to reach 30 wins (five years and 22 days). In addition to continuing tournament play, Zaharias also served as the president of the LPGA from August 1952 to July 1955.
Her colon cancer recurred in 1955. Despite her limited schedule of eight golfing events that season, Zaharias won her last two tournaments in competitive golf. On September 27, 1956, Zaharias died of her illness at the age of forty-five at the John Sealy Hospital
__NOTOC__
John Sealy Hospital is a hospital that is a part of the University of Texas Medical Branch complex in Galveston, Texas, United States.
History
Sealy opened on January 10, 1890. It was founded by the widow and brother of one of the rich ...
in Galveston, Texas. At the time of her death, she was still a top-ranked female golfer. She and her husband had earlier established the Babe Zaharias Fund to support cancer clinics. She is buried at Forest Lawn Cemetery in her hometown of Beaumont, Texas.
During her final years, Didrikson became known not only for her athletic abilities but as a public advocate for cancer awareness, at a time when many Americans refused to seek diagnosis or treatment for suspected cancer. She used her fame to solicit donations for her cancer fund but also as a spokesperson for the American Cancer Society. Her work in this area was honored by US President Dwight Eisenhower on a visit to the White House.
Legacy
She was named the 10th Greatest North American Athlete of the 20th Century by ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). Th ...
.
Zaharias broke the accepted models of femininity
Femininity (also called womanliness) is a set of attributes, behaviors, and roles generally associated with women and girls. Femininity can be understood as socially constructed, and there is also some evidence that some behaviors considered f ...
in her time, including the accepted models of female athleticism. Standing tall and weighing , Zaharias was physically strong and socially straightforward about her strength. Although a sports hero to many, she was also derided for her "manliness".
Zaharias was inducted into the LPGA Hall of Fame in 1951 (now part of the World Golf Hall of Fame
The World Golf Hall of Fame is located at World Golf Village near St. Augustine, Florida, in the United States, and it is unusual among sports halls of fame in that a single site honors both men and women. It is supported by a consortium of 26 go ...
). In 1957, she posthumously received the Bob Jones Award, the highest honor given by the United States Golf Association
The United States Golf Association (USGA) is the United States national association of golf courses, clubs and facilities and the governing body of golf for the U.S. and Mexico. Together with The R&A, the USGA produces and interprets the rules ...
in recognition of distinguished sportsmanship in golf. It was accepted by her husband George, four months after her death. She was one of six initial inductees into the LPGA Hall of Fame at its inception in 1977.
Zaharias has a museum dedicated to her in Beaumont, Texas the Babe Didrikson Zaharias Museum. Several golf courses are named after her. A Tampa, Florida
Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...
golf course that she and her husband owned, the Babe Zaharias Golf Course, was given landmark status.
In 1973, Zaharias, who had lived in the Denver area for most of the 1940s and early 1950s, became one of the three inductees in the inaugural class (joining Dave Hill
David John Hill (born 4 April 1946) is an English rock musician. He is the lead guitarist, a backing vocalist and the sole continuous member in the English band Slade. Hill is known for his flamboyant stage clothes and hairstyle.
Early life
B ...
and Babe Lind) of the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame.
In 1976, Zaharias was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame.
In 1981, the U.S. Postal Service
The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U. ...
issued an 18 cent stamp commemorating Zaharias. In 2008, Zaharias was inducted into the Colorado Women's Hall of Fame
The Colorado Women's Hall of Fame is a non-profit, volunteer organization that recognizes women who have contributed to the history of the U.S. state of Colorado. As of 2020, 170 women have been inducted.
History
There was a short-lived recogniti ...
.
On January 7, 2021, Zaharias was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom
The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award of the United States, along with the Congressional Gold Medal. It is an award bestowed by the president of the United States to recognize people who have made "an especially merit ...
by President Donald J. Trump.
Contemporary impressions
Williams' remark typified the attitude of some toward women who did not fit the traditional ideals of femininity current in the first half of the 20th century. However, in the same time period, the Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. ne ...
chose her as the "Female Athlete of the Year" six times for track & field and for golfing, and, in 1950, overwhelmingly voted for her as the "Greatest Female Athlete of the First Half of the Century". Aside from her impact on the women and girls of her time, she impressed seasoned sportswriters also:
Modern-day
The Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. ne ...
followed up its 1950 declaration fifty years later by voting Zaharias the ''Woman Athlete of the 20th Century'' in 1999. In 2000, ''Sports Illustrated
''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twi ...
'' magazine also named her second on its list of the Greatest Female Athletes of All Time, behind the heptathlete
A heptathlon is a track and field combined events contest made up of seven events. The name derives from the Greek επτά (hepta, meaning "seven") and ἄθλος (áthlos, or ἄθλον, áthlon, meaning "competition"). A competitor in a hept ...
Jackie Joyner-Kersee
Jacqueline Joyner-Kersee (born March 3, 1962) is a retired American track and field athlete, ranked among the all-time greatest athletes in the heptathlon as well as long jump. She won three gold, one silver, and two bronze Olympic medals in tho ...
. She is also in the World Golf Hall of Fame
The World Golf Hall of Fame is located at World Golf Village near St. Augustine, Florida, in the United States, and it is unusual among sports halls of fame in that a single site honors both men and women. It is supported by a consortium of 26 go ...
. Zaharias is the highest-ranked woman, at No. 10, on ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). Th ...
's list of the 50 top athletes of the 20th century. In 2000, she was ranked as the 17th-greatest golfer, and the second-greatest woman player (after Mickey Wright) by ''Golf Digest'' magazine.
Zaharias wrote an autobiography ''This Life I've Led''. It is no longer in print but is available in many libraries.
In 1975, the film ''Babe'', based on Zaharias' life, was released, with Susan Clark playing the lead role (for which Clark would win an Emmy Award). Alex Karras played George Zaharias. Clark and Karras met while making the picture and later married.
In 2014, Zaharias was inducted into the Legacy Walk, an outdoor public display that celebrates LGBT history and people.
She was inducted into the Texas Track and Field Coaches Hall of Fame, Class of 2016.
She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom
The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award of the United States, along with the Congressional Gold Medal. It is an award bestowed by the president of the United States to recognize people who have made "an especially merit ...
on January 7, 2021
Babe Zaharias Golf Course
In 1949, Zaharias purchased a golf course in the Forest Hills (Tampa), Florida, Forest Hills area of Tampa and lived nearby. After her death, the golf course was sold. It lay dormant as developers attempted to acquire the land for residential housing.
In 1974, the City of Tampa took over the golf course, renovated it, and reopened it, naming it the Babe Zaharias Golf Course. At some point afterward, it was accorded historical-landmark status.
California course
In 1980, the Industry Hills Golf Club at Pacific Palms Resort in City of Industry, California built two courses, The Ike and The Zaharias. The courses were designed by William F. Bell (original design) and Casey O'Callaghan (renovation). In 2010, the courses together won the National Golf Course Owners Association's California Golf Course of the Year Award.
In the media
* Dodge featured Babe Didrikson in advertisements for the 1933 Dodge "6" sedan.
* Zaharias appeared as a guest on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC reality show, ''The Comeback Story'' (1953–1954), explaining her attempts to battle colon cancer, which thereafter still claimed her life.[Marsh, Earle and Brooks, Tim, ''The Complete Directory to Prime-Time Network and Cable Television Shows, 1946–Present'', p. 237]
* In 1952, she appeared as herself in the Spencer Tracy-Katharine Hepburn film ''Pat and Mike
''Pat and Mike'' is a 1952 American romantic comedy film starring Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn. The movie was written by Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin, and directed by George Cukor. Cukor directed '' The Philadelphia Story'' (1940) with H ...
''.
* In 1975, Susan Clark portrayed Zaharias in a biographic TV movie titled ''Babe''.
* The 1987 science fiction novel ''Countersolar!'' by Richard A. Lupoff featured Zaharias as a character serving as part of an interplanetary expedition alongside Josh Gibson and Albert Einstein on a spacecraft built by Jack Northrop.
* In Jenifer Levin's 1993 novel ''The Sea of Light'', main character Mildred "Babe" Delgado is named after Zaharias by her mother Barbara, who considered Zaharias to be "my only hero".
* In 2007, Carolyn Gage began work on ''Babe'', a full-chorus, full-orchestra musical about Zaharias.
* In June 2011, Little, Brown published a major biography of Zaharias, ''Wonder Girl'', by author Don Van Natta Jr.
* ''Family Guy'' has made numerous references to Babe Zaharias being one of the greatest Americans to have lived.
* In season 21 of ''The Simpsons'', Marge dresses up as Zaharias for her Charity Chicks calendar with a history theme. Marge also refers to her as the female Tiger Woods of the 20th century.
* On August 26, 2014, her story was portrayed in a "Sport Heroes" episode of the Comedy Central series ''Drunk History''; Didrikson Zaharias was played by Emily Deschanel.
Amateur wins
''Note: This list is incomplete.''
*1935 Texas Women's Amateur
*1946 U.S. Women's Amateur, Women's Trans-Mississippi Amateur
*1947 North and South Women's Amateur, British Ladies Amateur
The Women's Amateur Championship, previously known as the Ladies' British Open Amateur Championship, was founded in 1893 by the Ladies' Golf Union. It is organised by The R&A, which merged with the Ladies' Golf Union in 2017. Until the dawn of th ...
Professional wins
LPGA Tour wins (41)
*1940 (1) Women's Western Open
The Women's Western Open was an American professional golf tournament founded in 1930. The LPGA was established in 1950, and it recognized the Western Open as one of its major championships through 1967. All of the events back to 1930 have been d ...
(as an amateur)
*1944 (1) Women's Western Open
The Women's Western Open was an American professional golf tournament founded in 1930. The LPGA was established in 1950, and it recognized the Western Open as one of its major championships through 1967. All of the events back to 1930 have been d ...
(as an amateur)
*1945 (1) Women's Western Open
The Women's Western Open was an American professional golf tournament founded in 1930. The LPGA was established in 1950, and it recognized the Western Open as one of its major championships through 1967. All of the events back to 1930 have been d ...
(as an amateur)
*1947 (2) Tampa Women's Open, Tampa Open, Titleholders Championship
The Titleholders Championship was a women's golf tournament played from in 1937 to 1966 and again in 1972. It was later designated a major championship by the LPGA Tour.
History
The Titleholders Championship was founded in 1937. Like the Masters ...
(as an amateur)
*1948 (3) All American Open (LPGA Tour), All American Open, World Championship (LPGA Tour), World Championship, U.S. Women's Open
The U.S. Women's Open, one of 15 national golf championships conducted by the United States Golf Association (USGA), is the oldest of the LPGA Tour's five major championships, which includes the Chevron Championship, Women's PGA Championship, W ...
*1949 (2) World Championship (LPGA Tour), World Championship, Eastern Women's Open, Eastern Open
*1950 LPGA Tour, 1950 (8) Titleholders Championship
The Titleholders Championship was a women's golf tournament played from in 1937 to 1966 and again in 1972. It was later designated a major championship by the LPGA Tour.
History
The Titleholders Championship was founded in 1937. Like the Masters ...
, Pebble Beach Weathervane, Cleveland Weathervane, 144 Hole Weathervane, Women's Western Open
The Women's Western Open was an American professional golf tournament founded in 1930. The LPGA was established in 1950, and it recognized the Western Open as one of its major championships through 1967. All of the events back to 1930 have been d ...
, All American Open (LPGA Tour), All American Open, World Championship (LPGA Tour), World Championship, U.S. Women's Open
The U.S. Women's Open, one of 15 national golf championships conducted by the United States Golf Association (USGA), is the oldest of the LPGA Tour's five major championships, which includes the Chevron Championship, Women's PGA Championship, W ...
*1951 LPGA Tour, 1951 (9) Ponte Verde Beach Women's Open, Tampa Women's Open, Lakewood Weathervane, Richmond Women's Open, Fresno Open (LPGA Tour), Valley Open, Meridian Hills Weathervane, All American Open (LPGA Tour), All American Open, World Championship (LPGA Tour), World Championship, Women's Texas Open
*1952 LPGA Tour, 1952 (5) Miami Weathervane, Titleholders Championship
The Titleholders Championship was a women's golf tournament played from in 1937 to 1966 and again in 1972. It was later designated a major championship by the LPGA Tour.
History
The Titleholders Championship was founded in 1937. Like the Masters ...
, Bakersfield Open (LPGA Tour), Bakersfield Open (tied with Marlene Hagge, Betty Jameson and Betsy Rawls), Fresno Open (LPGA Tour), Fresno Open, Women's Texas Open
*1953 LPGA Tour, 1953 (2) Sarasota Open (LPGA Tour), Sarasota Open, Babe Zaharias Open
*1954 LPGA Tour, 1954 (5) Serbin Open, Sarasota Open (LPGA Tour), Sarasota Open, Damon Runyon Cancer Fund Tournament, U.S. Women's Open
The U.S. Women's Open, one of 15 national golf championships conducted by the United States Golf Association (USGA), is the oldest of the LPGA Tour's five major championships, which includes the Chevron Championship, Women's PGA Championship, W ...
, All American Open (LPGA Tour), All American Open
*1955 LPGA Tour, 1955 (2) Tampa Women's Open, Tampa Open, Peach Blossom Open
LPGA Women's major golf championships, Majors are shown in bold.
Other wins
*1940 Women's Texas Open
*1945 Women's Texas Open
*1946 All American Open (LPGA Tour), All American Open, Women's Texas Open
*1947 Hardscrabble Open
*1951 Orlando Florida 2-Ball (with George Bolesta)
*1952 Orlando Mixed (with Al Besselink)
Major championships
Wins (10)
See also
*List of golfers with most LPGA Tour wins
*List of golfers with most LPGA major championship wins
Female golfers who have competed against men in open PGA tournaments:
:*Annika Sorenstam
:* Suzy Whaley
:*Michelle Wie
Michelle Sung Wie West (; born October 11, 1989) is an American professional golfer who plays on the LPGA Tour. At age 10, she became the youngest player to qualify for a USGA amateur championship. Wie also became the youngest winner of the U.S ...
:* Brittany Lincicome
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
External links
*
*
*
*
*
Babe Didrikson photos
held by the Library of Congress
*
Babe
', a 1975 Television movie, TV movie biography, at The Internet Movie Database
*
"Babe Didrikson Zaharias's Legacy Fades"
''The New York Times'', June 25, 2011
Babe Didrikson Zaharias
– Note: Although this is the official site of the Babe Didrikson Zaharias Foundation, this site once contained a number of notable factual errors that have since been corrected. For example, it stated that she won all of the events she entered at the 1932 Olympic games when in fact she won two of the three. It stated that she graduated from high school; she did not. And it stated that she did not smoke, which is also not true.
* Michals, Debra
"Mildred 'Babe' Zaharias"
National Women's History Museum. 2015.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zaharias, Babe Didrikson
20th-century American non-fiction writers
20th-century American women writers
American autobiographers
American women's basketball players
American female golfers
American female high jumpers
American female hurdlers
American female javelin throwers
American people of Norwegian descent
Athletes (track and field) at the 1932 Summer Olympics
Baseball players from Dallas
Baseball players from Tampa, Florida
Basketball players from Dallas
Basketball players from Tampa, Florida
Bisexual sportspeople
Deaths from cancer in Texas
Deaths from colorectal cancer
Golfers from Dallas
Golfers from Tampa, Florida
LGBT golfers
LGBT baseball players
LGBT basketball players
LGBT people from Texas
American LGBT sportspeople
LGBT track and field athletes
LPGA Tour golfers
Medalists at the 1932 Summer Olympics
Olympic gold medalists for the United States in track and field
Olympic silver medalists for the United States in track and field
Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients
Sportspeople from Beaumont, Texas
Track and field athletes from Dallas
Track and field athletes from Florida
Sportspeople from Port Arthur, Texas
Winners of ladies' major amateur golf championships
Winners of LPGA major golf championships
Women autobiographers
World Golf Hall of Fame inductees
1911 births
1956 deaths
20th-century LGBT people