WHW Profile: Mildred Ella “Babe” Didrikson Zaharias

Much like former WHW profile, Ira Wells, many consider Mildred Ella “Babe” Didrikson Zaharias the one of the best female sports superstars that never was. Her grave reads, “World’s Greatest Woman Athlete”.

Early Life

Mildred Ella Didriksen was born June 11, 1911 in Port Arthur Texas to Hannah and Ole Didriksen. Her parents moved to texas from Norway and raised seven children, “Babe” was the sixth of the bunch. The nickname is one given originally by her mother, but the origins have been altered by Mildred over the years. She claims that she was given the nickname “Babe” after hitting multiple home runs during a baseball game. Other alterations Babe made to her story included the spelling of her last name (from Didriksen to Didrikson), and the year of her birth (she modestly made herself younger, claiming to be born in 1914). Babe was known for her Mohammad Ali-like rants on her life and style of play. She was a showman, one of the many things that made her an original superstar athlete.

Didrikson was competitive in just about every aspect of life. She was also accomplished in just about every aspect of life. Don Van Natta Jr., author of “Wonder Girl”, described a young Mildred as a “ foul-mouthed Beaumont girl who preferred to play baseball and basketball with the boys because they were better athletes than the girls.” From sports to sewing to music, “The Babe” was on top! If you asked Babe, she was a 1931 Texas State Champion Seamstress. Perhaps a result of being the second youngest child, Mildred was an excellent seamstress, and often sewed her own clothes. The truth is, Mildred was not a Texas State Champion, but she did win the South Texas State Fair Sewing Championship.

A Career in … Insurance

There was one particular thing she never quite excelled at, and that was her academics. Didrikson eventually dropped out of high school and went to work for Employers Casualty Insurance Company in Dallas, Texas. Officially, Babe was the High School Secretary, but she was truly recruited to represent the company on their AAU team, the Golden Cyclones. The move paid off for both parties, as Didrikson led the Cyclones to two AAU finals and one championship. She was named an AAU All-American from 1930-1933. However, it was not her basketball title that would become her claim to fame.

Didrikson also represented the company in the AAU Track & Field Championships. The contest, held in July 1932. The year prior, Babe won three events and broke three world records; she finished the event as the leading scorer. In 1932, she shattered her own record, competing in 80% of the events (8 of 10). Babe won 5 events, and placed top-4 in seven events, racking up 30 points. Babe was the lone representative of her company and still managed to win the event held in Evanston, Illinois. The second placed team scored 22 points with 22 athletes.

Summer Olympics

Didrickson’s performance in Illinois earned her a spot on the Team USA for the 1932 Summer Olympics held in Los Angeles, California. Although Babe qualified in 5 events, women were only allowed to compete in three. She won gold in the javelin and 80 meter hurdles, her performances also earned her a world record with a throw of 143’4” and a time of 11.7 seconds. Both records we beat in the 1936 games. In her third event, Didrickson tied fellow American Jean Shelly with a jump of 5’5 feet. Shelly was awarded the gold due to the “improper technique” of Didrickson. The two held the World Record for 6 year, Olympic record for 16 year, and the American record for 23 years. Yet again, her Olympic performance would not become her claim to fame.

LPGA

After the Olympics and during the Depression, Babe worked the vaudeville circuit for income, she also baseball on horseback with the bearded House of David, a barnstorming team that played in small towns. In 1935, Didrickson took up golf. Some say that the Babe took to golf to quell some of the comments she received while competing in the Olympics. It was thought by her that she needed to rebrand her image and golf was a sport where she could dress more feminine, yet still compete. In 1938, Mildred married former wrestler George Zaharias.

Golf did not come easy to the Babe, “Golf was the toughest game for Didrikson, but she mastered it by practicing for 10 hours a day until her hands were bloodied and blistered” writes Van Natta Jr. for the New York Times. However, she persevered all but one of her amateur tournaments. She went on to win 16 of her first 17 tournaments; although, if you asked Babe, she won 17 straight. One of these consecutive wins was the Women’s Amateur Championship. In 1947, Babe became the first American to win the tournament, and became the face of women’s golf. Again, her flair for embellishment served her well, as she was often paid roughly $1,000 under the table to enter tournaments. She would arrive, announcing herself as the winner and asking other competitors who was coming in second. This brash, trash-talking, texas style of entertainment is likely what allowed the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) to survive its early years.

The LPGA was founded in 1950 with 13 members, Babe was the superstar of the bunch. Allegedly, Babe would schedule appearances for herself through promoters and close the deal by saying, “ … and I'll bring along a few of the girls.” That is how early events in the LPGA were arranged, through Babe. She went on to be the LPGA tour leader in the first two years. Yet still, the early years of the LPGA are not seen as her greatest sports moment.

Battling Back

In the spring of 1953, babe was diagnosed with cancer and thought her playing days were gone. As it turned out, the Babe had another round left in her. Just over a year after having major surgery, Didrickson was back on the links playing golf. After her colostomy, Babe made her way back to the United States Women’s Open. She played with an additional accessory, a colostomy bag, in the 1954 tournament. Despite it all, including doctors stating Babe would never play golf again, she did. Not only did she play, but she won her third US Women’s Open in true Babe fashion; in a 12 stroke victory and as the Vare Trophy winner with a 75.48 average.

After her win, Babe shared some touching remarks with the crowd:

“I don’t like to keep bringing up this hospital deal of mine, but I’se laying there in Room 201 at the Hotel Dieu hospital and there were these reports going out, about that I’d never play championship or tournament golf again. And, I laid in the bed and I says,’Please God, let me play again.’ And He answered my prayer. And I wanna thank God for letting me win again, it’s really wonderful.”

She continued to discuss her battle with cancer, becoming one of the first athletes to discuss her personal battle with illness. Babe won another four tournaments after her US Open performance at the Salem Country Club. The Associated Press named her Woman Athlete of the Year for a sixth, and final, time.

Lasting Legacy

Just over two years after her comeback victory at Salem Country Club, the Babe died at the age of 45. Today the South Texas State Fair hosts the Babe Zaharias Memorial Relays, the Babe Didrikson Zaharias museum stands in her hometown of Beaumont, Texas. There are foundations and scholarships named in her honor and the most recent LPGA purse was $1,300,000 (Volunteers of America texas Shootout).

President Dwight D. Eisenhower honored Babe after her death, “She was a woman who, in her athletic career, certainly won the admiration of every person in the United States,” said President Eisenhower, “all sports people all over the world, and in her gallant fight against cancer, she put up one of the kind of fights that inspire us all.”

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