Babe Didrikson Zaharias(1911-1956)
- Actress
- Writer
Babe Didrikson was a member of the women's All-America basketball team. During the same period she also won eight events and tied in a ninth in national championship competition in track and field. In the 1932 Women's Amateur Athletic Association, competing as a team by herself, Didrikson 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 became known for her competitiveness and brash confidence.
At the 1932 Olympic Games in Los Angeles Didrikson won the 80-metre hurdles and the javelin throw but was deprived of a third gold medal in the high jump because she had used the unorthodox Western roll to achieve the highest jump; she was awarded the silver medal instead.
Didrikson began playing golf in 1934 she played that game exclusively. In 1938 she became the first woman to compete in a men's golf event, though she did not make the cut. Also that year she married George Zaharias, a professional wrestler. Restored to amateur status after some years as a professional, she won the U.S. Women's Amateur tournament in 1946. The next year she won 17 straight golf championships, including the British Ladies Amateur, of which she was the first American holder. Didrikson Zaharias subsequently became a professional again, and in 1948 she won the U.S. Women's Open, a feat she repeated two years later.
In 1950 Didrikson Zaharias helped found the Ladies Professional Golf Association. Not only did she attract interest in the women's game, she revolutionized the sport and was known for her powerful drives. Diagnosed with colon cancer, she underwent surgery in 1953. The following year, in one of sport's greatest comebacks, she captured her third U.S. Open. She won four other tournaments in 1954, and the following year she claimed two more victories, which were the last of her career.
At the 1932 Olympic Games in Los Angeles Didrikson won the 80-metre hurdles and the javelin throw but was deprived of a third gold medal in the high jump because she had used the unorthodox Western roll to achieve the highest jump; she was awarded the silver medal instead.
Didrikson began playing golf in 1934 she played that game exclusively. In 1938 she became the first woman to compete in a men's golf event, though she did not make the cut. Also that year she married George Zaharias, a professional wrestler. Restored to amateur status after some years as a professional, she won the U.S. Women's Amateur tournament in 1946. The next year she won 17 straight golf championships, including the British Ladies Amateur, of which she was the first American holder. Didrikson Zaharias subsequently became a professional again, and in 1948 she won the U.S. Women's Open, a feat she repeated two years later.
In 1950 Didrikson Zaharias helped found the Ladies Professional Golf Association. Not only did she attract interest in the women's game, she revolutionized the sport and was known for her powerful drives. Diagnosed with colon cancer, she underwent surgery in 1953. The following year, in one of sport's greatest comebacks, she captured her third U.S. Open. She won four other tournaments in 1954, and the following year she claimed two more victories, which were the last of her career.
