Babe Didrikson Zaharias defied traditional femininity and proved that women can make exceptional athletes. Known as “the World’s Greatest Woman Athlete,” Zaharias dominated tennis, track, and field, basketball, golf, and baseball.
Born Mildred Ella Didrikson, Zaharias got the nickname “Babe” after baseball great Babe Ruth, reflecting her baseball abilities. Her participation in several sports at Beaumont High School in Beaumont, Texas was varied and exemplary. She won two gold medals and a silver medal in track and field at the 1932 Olympics.
Though very athletically talented, it was said that golf was her sport. She won 82 tournaments, including amateur and professional, and was a founding member of the Ladies Professional Golf Association.
She met her husband, professional wrestler George Zaharias while playing golf; they married in 1938 and in 1956 at age 45 she died from cancer.
Zaharias was inducted into the Hall of Fame of Women’s Golf in 1951. In 1957, she posthumously received the Bob Jones Award, the highest honor given by the United States Golf Association in recognition of distinguished sportsmanship in golf. It was accepted by her husband George, four months after her death. Among Babe Didrikson Zaharias’s legacy are a museum dedicated to her in Beaumont and topping several greatest athlete lists in the media.
This is a great #tbt motivational story of a very strong woman who changed the world of sport.
#GetVal #SportValues #Equity # DidriksonZaharias