Babe Didrikson Zaharias was one of the greatest 20th century American female athletes. A phenom ahead of her time, Zaharias excelled in basketball and track and field and won two gold medals for the latter at the 1932 Summer Olympics. She became best known for her achievements in golf, eventually founding the Ladies Professional Golf Association and winning 10 major LPGA championships.
Born Mildred Ella Didrikson on June 26, 1911, in Port Arthur, Texas, she was the sixth of seven children born to Norwegian immigrants. She found her love of sports while playing neighborhood baseball and claimed to have earned the nickname “Babe” – after baseball legend Babe Ruth – because of her many home-runs.
She was an exuberant tomboy and adept at every sport she tried, including basketball, track, golf, baseball, tennis, swimming, diving, boxing, volleyball, handball, bowling, billiards, skating, and cycling. However, she was not one for academics and dropped out of high school to pursue athletics.
Didrikson was a member of the women’s All-America basketball team from 1930 to 1932. During that time, she also won eight events and tied for a ninth in the national championship competition in track and field. In the 1932 Women’s Amateur Athletic Association Championship, she was a team of one and won six individual events and the team title, outscoring the 20-women runner-up team from the Illinois Athletic Club 30 points to 22.
She then competed in the 1932 Olympics and set four world records. She won two gold medals and one silver medal for track and field. Her success brought her national attention and secured her fame as an athlete.
Didrikson went on to dominate in golf, where she met and married her husband, professional wrestler George Zaharias. She won the U.S. Women’s Amateur tournament in 1946 and the following year won 17 straight golf championships, including the British Ladies Amateur, making her the first American to do so. She won the 1947 Titleholders Championship and in 1948 and 1950 won the U.S. Women’s Open. By 1950, she had won every golf title available.
Didrikson Zaharias died of colon cancer in 1956, still a top-ranked female golfer. She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom on January 7, 2021.