Babe Didrikson Zaharias

By: Rachel Raslowsky

Babe Didrikson Zaharias was an American athlete who changed the face of women's sports. She excelled in a wide variety of sports including basketball, track and field events and golf. Throughout her life Babe took things that weren't meant for women and showed people that she was so much more than her gender. I believe Babe Didrikson Zaharias deserves a spot at The Dinner Party because she was so influential for women's sports. I also believe that she deserves a spot at The Dinner Party because not many people have heard of her and considering all she has done to prove that women can compete in sports at a professional level. I also believe Babe deserves a spot at the table because there are no athletes at The Dinner Party.

Babe Didrikson Zaharias was born Mildred Ella Didrikson on June 26, 1911 in Texas. Her father was a firm believer in physical conditioning and from a young age Babe was competitive. She was always interested in sports and loved to play “boys” games with her brothers. She earned her nickname when she hit five home runs in a single baseball game, Babe Didrikson was nicknamed after Babe Ruth. By the time she was fifteen, Babe Didrikson was the high-scoring forward on the girls’ basketball team at her high school. While she was playing, Babe Didrikson caught the attention of Melvin McCombs who got her a job playing on the Golden Cyclones. For two out of the next three years, Babe Didrikson was an All American forward.

After basketball, Babe turned her attention towards Track and Field. In 1931 at the National Women’s AAU Track Meet Babe won first place in eight events and second in a ninth. In 1932 she won the championship, scoring thirty points the team that came in second entered twenty two athletes and scored only twenty two points. Babe was invited to the Olympics and at the Olympics Babe broke four world records. Her world record for high jump wasn’t counted because women could only enter three events. She won the high-jump by using a technique that had only been used by men before.

Babe Didrikson began playing golf in 1931. In April 1935 she won the Texas State Women’s Championship. During the summer of that year she was declared a professional because of an unauthorized endorsement. For several years Babe traveled around the country giving golf exhibitions. After traveling she was the only woman on the Babe Didrikson All-American basketball team. She also played some games with the House of David baseball team. She once pitched an inning for the St. Louis Cardinals during an exhibition game. In 1938 she married George Zaharias who convinced her to reapply to become an amateur golfer. In 1947 Babe became the first American woman to win the British Ladies’ Amateur Championship. In August of that year she returned to being a professional golfer. For the next six years Babe dominated the world of female golf. In April of 1953 she had a cancer operation and people worried that she wouldn’t return to the competition but three and a half months later Babe did. A year later she won the US Women’s Open by twelve strokes. On September 27, 1956 she died during a second cancer operation.