ZAHARIAS, BABE DIDRIKSON

born June 26, 1914, Port Arthur, Texas, U.S. died Sept. 27, 1956, Galveston, Texas Babe Didrikson Zaharias. byname of Mildred Ella Zaharias, ne Mildred Ella Didriksen American sportswoman who was one of the greatest athletes of the 20th century, a remarkable performer in basketball and in track and field and later a leading golfer. In 1930, 1931, and 1932 she was a member of the women's All-America basketball team. From 1930 through 1932 she won eight events and tied in a ninth in national championship competition in track and field. At the 1932 Olympic Games in Los Angeles she won the 80-metre hurdles and the javelin throw and was deprived of a third gold medal only because she had used the then-unorthodox Western roll in winning the high jump. She also excelled in baseball and softball, swimming, figure skating, billiards, and even football. In 1938 Didrikson married George Zaharias, a professional wrestler. She began playing golf casually in 1932, but from 1934 she played that game exclusively. 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 U.S. holder. As a professional again from 1948, she won the U.S. Women's Open in that year and in 1950. From 1948 through 1951 she was the leading money winner among woman golfers. Diagnosed with cancer, she underwent surgery in 1953, then went on to win the U.S. Open again in 1954. Didrikson Zaharias's autobiography, This Life I've Led, appeared in 1955. Additional reading William Oscar Johnson and Nancy P. Williamson, "Whatta-Gal": The Babe Didrikson Story (1977); and Susan E. Cayleff, Babe: The Life and Legend of Babe Didrikson Zaharias (1995), examine her life and career.