Mildred Ella "Babe" Didrikson Zaharias (June 26, 1911 – September 27, 1956) was an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
athlete who achieved outstanding success in
golfGolf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
,
basketballBasketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, and
track and fieldTrack and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
. She was named the 10th Greatest North American Athlete of the 20th Century by ESPN, and the 9th Greatest Athlete of the 20th Century by the Associated Press.
Biography
Mildred Ella Didrikson was the sixth of seven children born in the coastal
oilAn oil is any substance that is liquid at ambient temperatures and does not mix with water but may mix with other oils and organic solvents. This general definition includes vegetable oils, volatile essential oils, petrochemical oils, and synthetic oils....
cityA city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...
of
Port Arthur-Demographics:As of the 2000 census, there were 57,755 people, 21,839 households, and 14,675 families residing in the city. The population density was 696.5 people per square mile . There were 24,713 housing units at an average density of 298.0 per square mile...
in southeastern
TexasTexas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. Her mother, Hannah, and her father, Ole, were immigrants from
NorwayNorway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
. Three of her six siblings were born in Norway, and the other three were born in Port Arthur. She later changed the spelling of her surname from Didriksen to Didrikson. Didrikson moved with her family to
Beaumont, TexasBeaumont is a city in and county seat of Jefferson County, Texas, United States, within the Beaumont–Port Arthur Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city's population was 118,296 at the 2010 census. With Port Arthur and Orange, it forms the Golden Triangle, a major industrial area on the...
at age four, residing at 850 Doucette. She claimed to have acquired the nickname "Babe" (after
Babe RuthGeorge Herman Ruth, Jr. , best known as "Babe" Ruth and nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Sultan of Swat", was an American Major League baseball player from 1914–1935...
) upon hitting five
home runIn baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...
s in a childhood
baseballBaseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
game. In reality, her Norwegian mother had called her "Bebe" from the time she was a toddler.
Though best known for her athletic gifts, Didrikson had many talents and was a competitor in even the most domestic of occupations: sewing. An excellent seamstress, she made many of the clothes she wore, including her golfing outfits. She claimed to have won the sewing championship at the 1931
State Fair of TexasThe State Fair of Texas is an annual state fair held in Dallas, Texas . The fair season usually begins the last Friday in September and ends 24 days later. The fair is held at the historic Fair Park where it has been held since 1886. The 2012 State Fair of Texas will run from September 28th...
in Dallas, but in reality won the
South Texas State FairThe South Texas State Fair is an annual regional state fair held in Beaumont, Texas. The fair features a livestock show, a commercial exhibition, and a carnival Midway. Food concessions are a major attraction of the fair...
in Beaumont, embellishing the story many years later in 1953. She attended Beaumont High School. Never a strong student, she had been forced to repeat the eighth grade and was a year older than her classmates. She eventually dropped out without graduating after she moved to Dallas to play basketball. She was a singer and a
harmonicaThe harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
player. She recorded several songs on the
Mercury RecordsMercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal...
label. Her biggest seller was "I Felt a Little Teardrop" with "Detour" on the flip side.
Already famous as Babe Didrikson, she married
George ZahariasTheodore Vetoyanis was an American professional wrestler and sports promoter, known by his ring name George Zaharias, popularly known as "The Crying Greek from Cripple Creek" or "The Greek Hyena" during the 1930s...
(1908–1984), a professional wrestler, in
St. Louis, MissouriSt. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
, on December 23, 1938. Thereafter, she was largely known as
Babe Didrikson Zaharias or
Babe Zaharias. The couple met while playing golf. George Zaharias, a
Greek AmericanGreek Americans are Americans of Greek descent also described as Hellenic descent. According to the 2007 U.S. Census Bureau estimation, there were 1,380,088 people of Greek ancestry in the United States, while the State Department mentions that around 3,000,000 Americans claim to be of Greek descent...
, was a native of
Pueblo, ColoradoPueblo is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of Pueblo County, Colorado, United States. The population was 106,595 in 2010 census, making it the 246th most populous city in the United States....
. Called the "Crying Greek from
Cripple CreekThe City of Cripple Creek is a Statutory City that is the county seat of Teller County, Colorado, United States. Cripple Creek is a former gold mining camp located southwest of Colorado Springs near the base of Pikes Peak. The Cripple Creek Historic District, which received National Historic...
," Zaharias also did some part-time acting. The Zahariases had no children and were rebuffed by authorities when they sought to adopt.
Athletic achievements
Didrikson gained world fame in
track and fieldTrack and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
and
All-AmericaAn All-America team is an honorary sports team composed of outstanding amateur players—those considered the best players of a specific season for each team position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply...
n status in basketball. She played organized baseball and softball and was an expert diver, roller-skater and bowler. She won two gold medals and one silver medal for track and field in the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics.
AAU champion
Didrikson's first job after high school was a secretary, for the Employers Casualty Insurance Company of Dallas, though she was employed so that she could play
basketballBasketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
as an amateur on the company's "industrial team", the Golden Cyclones, in competition governed by the
Amateur Athletic UnionThe Amateur Athletic Union is one of the largest non-profit volunteer sports organizations in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs.-History:The AAU was founded in 1888 to...
(AAU). Despite leading the team to an AAU Basketball Championship in 1931, Didrikson first achieved wider attention as a track and field athlete.
Representing her company in the 1932 AAU Championships, she competed in eight out of ten events, winning five outright, and tying for first in a sixth. In the process, she set five world records in the javelin throw, 80-meter hurdles, high jump and baseball throw in a single afternoon. Didrikson's performances were enough to win the team championship, despite her being the only member of her team.
Post-Olympics
In the following years, she performed on the
vaudeville circuitVaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
, travelled with teams like Babe Didrikson's All-Americans basketball team and the bearded House of David (commune) team. Didrikson was also a competitive
pocket billiardsPool, also more formally known as pocket billiards or pool billiards , is the family of cue sports and games played on a pool table having six receptacles called pockets along the , into which balls are deposited as the main goal of play. Popular versions include eight-ball and nine-ball...
(pool) player, though not a champion. She was noted in the January 1933 press for playing (and badly losing) a multi-day
straight poolStraight pool, also called 14.1 continuous or simply 14.1, is a pocket billiards game, and was the common sport of championship competition until overtaken by faster-playing games like nine-ball...
match in
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
against famed female Ruth McGinnis.
Golf
By 1935, she began to play
golfGolf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
, a latecomer to the sport by which she would become the most famous. Shortly thereafter, despite the brevity of her experience, she was denied amateur status, and so in January 1938, she competed in the Los Angeles Open, a men's
PGAFounded in 1916, the Professional Golfers' Association of America is headquartered in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, and is made up of more than 28,000 men and women golf professional members...
(Professional Golfers' Association) tournament, a feat no other woman would even try until
Annika SörenstamAnnika Sörenstam is a Swedish-American professional golfer whose achievements rank her as one of the most successful golfers in history. Before stepping away from competitive golf at the end of the 2008 season, she won 90 international tournaments as a professional, making her the female golfer...
,
Suzy WhaleySuzy Whaley is a professional golfer, from Connecticut, who, in 2003, became the first woman in 58 years to qualify for a PGA Tour event when she qualified for the 2003 Greater Hartford Open, after winning the 2002 Connecticut Section PGA Championship. She was also the first woman to win a PGA...
, and
Michelle WieMichelle Sung Wie is an American professional golfer who plays on the LPGA Tour. At age 10, she became the youngest player to qualify for a USGA amateur championship. Wie would also become the youngest winner of the U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links and the youngest to qualify for a LPGA Tour event...
almost six decades later. She shot 81 strokes and 84 strokes, and she missed the cut. In the tournament, she was teamed with George Zaharias. They were married eleven months later, and lived in Tampa on the premises of a golf course that they purchased in 1951.
She went on to become America's first female golf celebrity and the leading player of the 1940s and early 1950s. If she wanted to gain back her amateur status she would have to not play any other sports for three years. After gaining back her amateur status in 1942, she won the 1946-47
United States Women's Amateur Golf ChampionshipThe U.S. Women's Amateur is the leading golf tournament in the United States for female amateur golfers. It is played annually and is one of the 13 United States national golf championships organized by the United States Golf Association . Female amateurs from all nations are eligible to compete...
s, as well as the 1947
British Ladies Amateur Golf ChampionshipThe British Ladies Amateur Golf Championship was founded in 1893 by the Ladies' Golf Union of Great Britain. Until the dawn of the professional era in 1976, it was the most important golf tournament for women in Great Britain and would eventually begin to draw golfers from continental Europe...
– the first American to do so – and three Women's Western Open victories. Having formally turned professional in 1947, she dominated the Women's Professional Golf Association and later the
Ladies Professional Golf AssociationThe LPGA, in full the Ladies Professional Golf Association, is an American organization for female professional golfers. The organization, whose headquarters is in Daytona Beach, Florida, is best known for running the LPGA Tour, a series of weekly golf tournaments for elite female golfers from...
, of which she was a founding member. Serious illness ended her career in the mid-1950s.
Zaharias even won a tournament named after her, the
Babe Zaharias OpenThe Babe Zaharias Open was a golf tournament on the LPGA Tour from 1953 to 1967. It was played at in Beaumont, Texas at the Beaumont Country Club from 1953 to 1964 and at the Bayou Din Golf Club from 1965 to 1967. Babe Zaharias, LPGA co-founder and Beaumont resident, hosted the tournament until her...
of
Beaumont, TexasBeaumont is a city in and county seat of Jefferson County, Texas, United States, within the Beaumont–Port Arthur Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city's population was 118,296 at the 2010 census. With Port Arthur and Orange, it forms the Golden Triangle, a major industrial area on the...
. She won the 1947
Titleholders ChampionshipThe Titleholders Championship was a women's golf tournament played from in 1937 to 1966 and again in 1972. It was later designated a major championship by the LPGA Tour.It should not be confused with two other LPGA events with similar names:...
and the 1948 U.S. Women's Open for her fourth and fifth major championships. She won 17 straight women's amateur victories, a feat never equaled by anyone. By 1950, she had won every golf title available. Totaling both her amateur and professional victories, Zaharias won a total of 82 golf tournaments.
Charles McGrath of
The New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
wrote of Zaharias, "Except perhaps for
Arnold PalmerArnold Daniel Palmer is an American professional golfer, who is generally regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of men's professional golf. He has won numerous events on both the PGA Tour and Champions Tour, dating back to 1955...
, no golfer has ever been more beloved by the gallery".
Against the men
While Zaharias missed the cut in a PGA tour event during her first year of tournament golf, later as she became more experienced she made the cut in every PGA tour event she entered. In 1945, Zaharias played in three PGA tournaments. She shot 76-81 to make the two-day cut at the Los Angeles Open (missed the three-day cut after a 79), making her the first (and currently only) woman in history to make the cut in a regular PGA tour event. She continued her cut streak at the Phoenix Open, where she shot 77-72-75-80 finishing in 33rd place. At the Tucson Open she shot 307 and finished tied for 42nd. Unlike other female golfers competing in men's events, she got into the Phoenix and Tucson opens through 36-hole qualifiers, as opposed to a sponsor's exemption.
Last years
Zaharias had her greatest year in 1950 when she completed the
Grand SlamYou may wish to visit:*Grand Slam for coverage of the concept of a grand slam as applied to golf*PGA Grand Slam of Golf, for the annual four man tournament for the winners of the major golf championships for men....
of the three women's majors of the day, the U.S. Open, the Titleholders Championship, and the Women's Western Open, in addition to leading the money list. That year, she became the fastest LPGA golfer to ever reach 10 wins, doing so in one year and 20 days, a record still standing. She was the leading money-winner again in 1951, and in 1952 took another major with a Titleholders victory, but illness prevented her from playing a full schedule in 1952-53. However, this did not stop her from also becoming the fastest player to reach 20 wins (two years and four months).
Zaharias was diagnosed with colon cancer in 1953, and after undergoing cancer surgery, she made a comeback in 1954. She took the Vare Trophy for lowest scoring average, her only win of that trophy, and her 10th and final major with a U.S. Women's Open championship, one month after the surgery and while wearing a colostomy bag. With this win, she became the second-oldest woman to ever win a major LPGA championship tournament (behind
Fay CrockerFay Crocker was the first non-American golfer to win one of the LPGA major golf championships. Her first major was the 1955 U.S. Women's Open and her second was the 1960 Titleholders Championship, where she set a record for the oldest LPGA major champion of 45 years, 7 months and 1 day.Crocker was...
). Babe Zaharias now stands third to Crocker and
Sherri SteinhauerSherri Steinhauer is an American golfer who currently plays on the LPGA Tour and on the Legends Tour. She was born in Madison, Wisconsin and attended The University of Texas at Austin. Her rookie season on the LPGA Tour was 1986. She has won eight tournaments on the Tour, including two major...
. These wins made her the fastest player to reach 30 wins (five years and 22 days). In addition to continuing tournament play, she also served as the president of the LPGA from 1952 to 1955.
Her colon cancer recurred in 1955, but despite her limited schedule of eight golfing events that season, she managed to gain her last two wins in competitive golf. On September 27, 1956, Zaharias died of her illness at the
John Sealy HospitalJohn Sealy Hospital is a hospital that is a part of the University of Texas Medical Branch complex in Galveston, Texas, United States.Sealy opened on January 10, 1890. It was founded by the widow and brother of one of the richest citizens of Texas, John Sealy after his death...
in
Galveston, TexasGalveston is a coastal city located on Galveston Island in the U.S. state of Texas. , the city had a total population of 47,743 within an area of...
, at age forty-five. At the time of her death she was still a top-ranked female golfer. She and her husband had established the Babe Zaharias Fund to support cancer clinics. She is buried at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Beaumont.
Cultural impact
Zaharias broke the accepted models of
femininityFemininity is a set of attributes, behaviors, and roles generally associated with girls and women. Though socially constructed, femininity is made up of both socially defined and biologically created factors...
in her time, including the accepted models of female athleticism. Although just 5'5" tall, she was physically strong and socially straightforward about her strength. Although a sports hero to many, she was also derided for her "manliness". She died 10 years before the
Second WaveThe Feminist Movement, or the Women's Liberation Movement in the United States refers to a period of feminist activity which began during the early 1960s and lasted through the early 1990s....
of
feminismFeminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
altered the social landscape of the United States and made women athletes, such as
Billie Jean KingBillie Jean King is a former professional tennis player from the United States. She won 12 Grand Slam singles titles, 16 Grand Slam women's doubles titles, and 11 Grand Slam mixed doubles titles. King has been an advocate against sexism in sports and society...
, more acceptable.
Zaharias has a museum dedicated to her, and a golf course that she owned was given landmark status.
Beaumont, TexasBeaumont is a city in and county seat of Jefferson County, Texas, United States, within the Beaumont–Port Arthur Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city's population was 118,296 at the 2010 census. With Port Arthur and Orange, it forms the Golden Triangle, a major industrial area on the...
is home to the Babe Didrikson Zaharias Park and Museum.
Contemporary impressions
Williams' remark typified the attitude of some toward women who did not fit the traditional ideals of femininity current in the first half of the 20th century. However, in the same time period, the
Associated PressThe Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
chose her as the "Female Athlete of the Year" six times for track & field and for golfing, and, in 1950, overwhelmingly voted for her as the "Greatest Female Athlete of the First Half of the Century". Aside from her impact on the women and girls of her time, she impressed seasoned sportswriters also:
She was inducted into the Hall of Fame of Women's Golf in 1951. In 1957, she was given the
Bob Jones AwardThe Bob Jones Award is the highest honor given by the United States Golf Association in recognition of distinguished sportsmanship in golf. It is named in honor of Bobby Jones.-Winners:*1955 Francis Ouimet*1956 William C. Campbell*1957 Babe Zaharias...
, the highest honor given by the
United States Golf AssociationThe United States Golf Association is the United States' national association of golf courses, clubs and facilities and the governing body of golf for the U.S. and Mexico. Together with The R&A, the USGA produces and interprets the Rules of Golf. The USGA also provides a national handicap system...
in recognition of distinguished sportsmanship in golf. She was one of six initial inductees into the
LPGAThe LPGA, in full the Ladies Professional Golf Association, is an American organization for female professional golfers. The organization, whose headquarters is in Daytona Beach, Florida, is best known for running the LPGA Tour, a series of weekly golf tournaments for elite female golfers from...
Hall of Fame at its inception in 1977.
Modern-day
The
Associated PressThe Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
followed up its 1950 declaration fifty years later by voting Zaharias the
Woman Athlete of the 20th Century in 1999. In 2000,
Sports IllustratedSports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
magazine also named her second on its list of the Greatest Female Athletes of All Time, behind the heptathlete
Jackie Joyner-KerseeJacqueline "Jackie" Joyner-Kersee is a retired American athlete, ranked among the all-time greatest athletes in the women's heptathlon as well as in the women's long jump. She won three gold, one silver, and two bronze Olympic medals, in those four different events...
. She is also in the
World Golf Hall of FameThe World Golf Hall of Fame is located at World Golf Village near St. Augustine, Florida, in the United States, and it is unusual among sports halls of fame in that a single site serves both men and women. It is supported by a consortium of 26 golf organizations from all over the world.The Hall of...
. Zaharias is the highest ranked woman, at #10, on
ESPNEntertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
's list of the 50 top athletes of the 20th century. In 2000, she was ranked as the 17th greatest golfer, and the second-greatest woman player (after
Mickey WrightMary Kathryn "Mickey" Wright is an American professional golfer. She is a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame.-Early life:...
) by
Golf DigestGolf Digest is a monthly golf magazine published by Condé Nast Publications in the United States. It is a generalist golf publication covering recreational golf and men's and women's competitive golf. Condé Nast Publications also publishes the more specialized , and Golf World Business. The...
magazine. Her exploits were referenced by the irreverent comedy program
Family GuyFamily Guy is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie; and their anthropomorphic pet dog Brian...
, in which her name and deeds were used as part of an "extended" version to the theme of the television series
MaudeMaude was an American television sitcom that was originally broadcast on the CBS network from September 12, 1972 until April 22, 1978.Maude starred Beatrice Arthur as Maude Findlay, an outspoken, middle-aged, politically liberal woman living in suburban Tuckahoe, Westchester County, New York with...
. Zaharias was also mentioned on the
Simpsons episode, "
The Devil Wears Nada"The Devil Wears Nada" is the fifth episode of the twenty-first season of The Simpsons. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 15, 2009...
," as the costume Marge Simpson wears when she poses for a racy charity calendar.
Zaharias penned an
autobiographyAn autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
This Life I've Led. It is no longer in print but is available in many
librariesIn a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...
.
In 1975, the film
Babe, based on Zaharias' life, was released, with
Susan ClarkSusan Clark is a Canadian actress, possibly best-known for her role as Katherine on the American television sitcom Webster, on which she appeared with her husband, Alex Karras.-Personal life:...
playing the lead role.
Alex KarrasAlexander George "Alex" Karras , nicknamed "The Mad Duck", is a former football player, professional wrestler, and actor, best known for his stint with the Detroit Lions of the National Football League from 1958–1962 and 1964-1970 and for his role as Mongo in the film Blazing Saddles...
played George Zaharias. Clark and Karras met while making the picture and later married.
Babe Zaharias Golf Course
In 1949, Zaharias purchased a golf course in the
Forest HillsForest Hills is a neighborhood partially within the city limits of Tampa, Florida, United States, with the northern portion located in unincorporated Hillsborough County near Lake Magdalene. The area was mainly a citrus grove until development began in the 1950s and 1960s. It contains the Babe...
area of Tampa and lived nearby. After her death, the golf course was sold. It lay dormant as developers attempted to acquire the land for residential housing.
In 1974, the City of Tampa took over the golf course, renovated it, and reopened it, naming it the Babe Zaharias Golf Course. At some point afterward, it was accorded historical-landmark status.
In the media
Zaharias appeared as a guest on the
ABCThe American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
reality show,
The Comeback StoryThe Comeback Story is a half-hour drama reality show which aired on ABC from October 2, 1953 to February 5, 1954, in which celebrities explain how they overcame physical disabilities or other kinds of adverse fortunes in their lives.-Production history:...
(1953-1954), explaining her attempts to battle colon cancer, which thereafter still claimed her life.
In 1952, she appeared in the
Spencer TracySpencer Bonaventure Tracy was an American theatrical and film actor, who appeared in 75 films from 1930 to 1967. Tracy was one of the major stars of Hollywood's Golden Age, ranking among the top ten box office draws for almost every year from 1938 to 1951...
-
Katharine HepburnKatharine Houghton Hepburn was an American actress of film, stage, and television. In a career that spanned 62 years as a leading lady, she was best known for playing strong-willed, sophisticated women in both dramas and comedies...
film
Pat and MikePat and Mike is a 1952 comedy starring Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy. The movie was directed by George Cukor, who also directed The Philadelphia Story and Adam's Rib.- Plot :...
.
In 2007, Carolyn Gage began work on
Babe, a full-chorus, full-orchestra musical about Zaharias.
In June 2011, Little, Brown published a major biography of Zaharias,
Wonder Girl, by author
Don Van Natta, Jr.Don Van Natta Jr. is an author and an investigative correspondent at The New York Times, where he was a member of two Pulitzer Prize-winning teams.-Life:...
Amateur wins
This list is probably incomplete:
- 1947 North and South Women's Amateur, British Ladies Amateur
LPGA Tour wins (41)
- 1940 (1) Women's Western Open (as an amateur)
- 1944 (1) Women's Western Open (as an amateur)
- 1945 (1) Women's Western Open (as an amateur)
- 1947 (2) Tampa Open
The Tampa Women's Open was a golf tournament on the LPGA Tour from 1947 to 1960. It was played at the Palma Ceia Golf & Country Club in Tampa, Florida. The 1950 event was the first official event on the LPGA Tour...
, Titleholders ChampionshipThe Titleholders Championship was a women's golf tournament played from in 1937 to 1966 and again in 1972. It was later designated a major championship by the LPGA Tour.It should not be confused with two other LPGA events with similar names:...
(as an amateur)
- 1948 (3) All American Open
The All American Open was a golf tournament on the LPGA Tour from 1943 to 1957. It was played at the Tam O'Shanter Country Club in Niles, Illinois. It was played concurrently with the men's All American Open on the PGA Tour as well as All American Amateur events...
, World ChampionshipThe World Championship was a golf tournament on the LPGA Tour from 1958 to 1957. It was played at the Tam O'Shanter Country Club in Niles, Illinois. It was played concurrently with the men's World Championship of Golf on the PGA Tour as well as World Amateur events...
, U.S. Women's Open
- 1949 (2) World Championship
The World Championship was a golf tournament on the LPGA Tour from 1958 to 1957. It was played at the Tam O'Shanter Country Club in Niles, Illinois. It was played concurrently with the men's World Championship of Golf on the PGA Tour as well as World Amateur events...
, Eastern OpenThe Eastern Women's Open was a golf tournament on the LPGA Tour from 1949 to 1961. It was played at four different courses in New Jersey, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania.-Tournament locations:-Winners:Eastern Open*1961 Mary Lena Faulk*1960 Mickey Wright...
- 1950
The 1950 LPGA Tour was the first official season of the LPGA Tour. The season ran from January 19 to October 21. It consisted of 15 official money events. Babe Zaharias won the most tournaments, six...
(8) Titleholders ChampionshipThe Titleholders Championship was a women's golf tournament played from in 1937 to 1966 and again in 1972. It was later designated a major championship by the LPGA Tour.It should not be confused with two other LPGA events with similar names:...
, Pebble Beach Weathervane, Cleveland Weathervane, 144 Hole Weathervane, Women's Western Open, All American OpenThe All American Open was a golf tournament on the LPGA Tour from 1943 to 1957. It was played at the Tam O'Shanter Country Club in Niles, Illinois. It was played concurrently with the men's All American Open on the PGA Tour as well as All American Amateur events...
, World ChampionshipThe World Championship was a golf tournament on the LPGA Tour from 1958 to 1957. It was played at the Tam O'Shanter Country Club in Niles, Illinois. It was played concurrently with the men's World Championship of Golf on the PGA Tour as well as World Amateur events...
, U.S. Women's Open
- 1951
The 1951 LPGA Tour was the second season since the LPGA Tour officially began in 1950. The season ran from January 5 to October 19. The season consisted of 19 official money events. Babe Zaharias won the most tournaments, seven...
(9) Ponte Verde Beach Women's Open, Tampa Women's OpenThe Tampa Women's Open was a golf tournament on the LPGA Tour from 1947 to 1960. It was played at the Palma Ceia Golf & Country Club in Tampa, Florida. The 1950 event was the first official event on the LPGA Tour...
, Lakewood Weathervane, Richmond Women's Open, Valley OpenThe Fresno Open was a golf tournament on the LPGA Tour from 1951 to 1952. It was played at Sunnyside Country Club in Sunnyside, California, a Fresno suburb....
, Meridian Hills Weathervane, All American OpenThe All American Open was a golf tournament on the LPGA Tour from 1943 to 1957. It was played at the Tam O'Shanter Country Club in Niles, Illinois. It was played concurrently with the men's All American Open on the PGA Tour as well as All American Amateur events...
, World ChampionshipThe World Championship was a golf tournament on the LPGA Tour from 1958 to 1957. It was played at the Tam O'Shanter Country Club in Niles, Illinois. It was played concurrently with the men's World Championship of Golf on the PGA Tour as well as World Amateur events...
, Women's Texas Open
- 1952
The 1952 LPGA Tour was the third season since the LPGA Tour officially began in 1950. The season ran from January 4 to October 28. The season consisted of 24 official money events. Betsy Rawls and Louise Suggs won the most tournaments, six each...
(5) Miami Weathervane, Titleholders ChampionshipThe Titleholders Championship was a women's golf tournament played from in 1937 to 1966 and again in 1972. It was later designated a major championship by the LPGA Tour.It should not be confused with two other LPGA events with similar names:...
, Bakersfield OpenThe Bakersfield Open was a golf tournament on the LPGA Tour from 1952 to 1953. It was played in Bakersfield, California-Winners:*1953 Louise Suggs*1952 Marlene Hagge, Betty Jameson, Betsy Rawls, Babe Zaharias...
(tied with Marlene HaggeMarlene Hagge , also known as Marlene Bauer before her marriage, is an American professional golfer. She was one of the thirteen founders of the LPGA and was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2002....
, Betty JamesonElizabeth May "Betty" Jameson was an American professional golfer and one of the founders of the LPGA.-Biography:...
and Betsy RawlsElizabeth Earle "Betsy" Rawls is an American professional golfer.Rawls was born in Spartanburg, South Carolina. After attending the University of Texas, Rawls joined the LPGA Tour in its second season in 1951. She won 55 tournaments on the tour, including eight major championships...
), Fresno OpenThe Fresno Open was a golf tournament on the LPGA Tour from 1951 to 1952. It was played at Sunnyside Country Club in Sunnyside, California, a Fresno suburb....
, Women's Texas Open
- 1953
The 1953 LPGA Tour was the fourth season since the LPGA Tour officially began in 1950. The season ran from January 15 to October 18. The season consisted of 25 official money events. Louise Suggs won the most tournaments, eight. She also led the money list with earnings of $19,816.This season also...
(2) Sarasota OpenThe Sarasota Open was a golf tournament on the LPGA Tour from 1952 to 1956. It was played in Sarasota, Florida at the Sarasota Bay Country Club from 1952 to 1954 and at the Bobby Jones Golf Club from 1955 to 1956.-Winners:*1956 Betsy Rawls*1955 Betty Jameson...
, Babe Zaharias OpenThe Babe Zaharias Open was a golf tournament on the LPGA Tour from 1953 to 1967. It was played at in Beaumont, Texas at the Beaumont Country Club from 1953 to 1964 and at the Bayou Din Golf Club from 1965 to 1967. Babe Zaharias, LPGA co-founder and Beaumont resident, hosted the tournament until her...
- 1954
The 1954 LPGA Tour was the fifth season since the LPGA Tour officially began in 1950. The season ran from January 15 to October 31. The season consisted of 21 official money events. Louise Suggs and Babe Zaharias won the most tournaments, five each...
(5) Serbin OpenThe Serbin Open was a golf tournament on the LPGA Tour from 1953 to 1957. It was played at the Bayshore Golf Club in Miami Beach, Florida.-Winners:Serbin Open*1957 Fay Crocker*1956 Fay Crocker*1955 Fay Crocker*1954 Babe ZahariasSerbin Miami Beach Open...
, Sarasota OpenThe Sarasota Open was a golf tournament on the LPGA Tour from 1952 to 1956. It was played in Sarasota, Florida at the Sarasota Bay Country Club from 1952 to 1954 and at the Bobby Jones Golf Club from 1955 to 1956.-Winners:*1956 Betsy Rawls*1955 Betty Jameson...
, Damon Runyan Cancer Fund TournamentThe Damon Runyan Cancer Fund Tournament was a golf tournament on the LPGA Tour, played only in 1954. It was played at Prince George's Golf Course in Landover, Maryland. Babe Zaharias won the event....
, U.S. Women's Open, All American OpenThe All American Open was a golf tournament on the LPGA Tour from 1943 to 1957. It was played at the Tam O'Shanter Country Club in Niles, Illinois. It was played concurrently with the men's All American Open on the PGA Tour as well as All American Amateur events...
- 1955
The 1955 LPGA Tour was the sixth season since the LPGA Tour officially began in 1950. The season ran from January 6 to October 9. The season consisted of 27 official money events. Patty Berg won the most tournaments, six. She also led the money list with earnings of $16,492.The season saw the first...
(2) Tampa OpenThe Tampa Women's Open was a golf tournament on the LPGA Tour from 1947 to 1960. It was played at the Palma Ceia Golf & Country Club in Tampa, Florida. The 1950 event was the first official event on the LPGA Tour...
, Peach Blossom OpenThe Peach Blossom Open was a golf tournament on the LPGA Tour from 1953 to 1966. It was played at the Spartanburg Country Club in Spartanburg, South Carolina...
LPGA
MajorsWomen's golf has a set of major championships which parallels that in men's golf, but the women's system is younger and has been less stable than the men's. Many professional stroke play events for women are played over three rounds , but the majors are played over four rounds , which is the...
are shown in
bold.
Other wins
- 1940 Women's Texas Open
- 1945 Women's Texas Open
- 1946 All American Open
The All American Open was a golf tournament on the LPGA Tour from 1943 to 1957. It was played at the Tam O'Shanter Country Club in Niles, Illinois. It was played concurrently with the men's All American Open on the PGA Tour as well as All American Amateur events...
, Women's Texas Open
- 1947 Hardscrabble Open
The Hardscrabble Open, also known as the Hardscrabble Women's Invitation, was a golf tournament played at the Hardscrabble Golf Club in Fort Smith, Arkansas from 1945 to 1953...
- 1951 Orlando Florida 2-Ball (with George Bolesta)
- 1952 Orlando Mixed (with Al Besselink
Albert Cornelius Besselink is an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour in the 1950s and 1960s.Besselink grew up in Merchantville, New Jersey. He attended the University of Miami and was the first UM golfer to win a national tournament. He won the Southern Invitational...
)
Wins (10)
| Year | Championship | Winning Score | Margin | Runner-up |
| 1940 The 1940 Women's Western Open was a golf competition held at Blue Mound Golf & Country Club, which was the 11th edition of the event. Babe Zaharias won the championship in match play competition by defeating Mrs. Russell Mann in the final match, 5 and 4....
|
Women's Western Open |
5 & 4 |
 Mrs. Russell Mann |
| 1944 The 1944 Women's Western Open was a golf competition held at Park Ridge, Illinois, which was the 15th edition of the event. Babe Zaharias won the championship in match play competition by defeating Dorothy Germain in the final match, 7 and 5....
|
Women's Western Open |
7 & 5 |
Dorothy Germain (a) |
| 1945 The 1945 Women's Western Open was a golf competition held at Highland Golf & Country Club, which was the 16th edition of the event. Babe Zaharias won the championship in match play competition by defeating Dorothy Germain in the final match, 4 and 2....
|
Women's Western Open |
4 & 2 |
Dorothy Germain (a) |
| 1947 The 1947 Titleholders Championship was contested from March 27-30 at Augusta Country Club. It was the 8th edition of the Titleholders Championship.This event was won by Babe Zaharias.-First round:-Second round:-Third round:-Final round:...
|
Titleholders Championship The Titleholders Championship was a women's golf tournament played from in 1937 to 1966 and again in 1972. It was later designated a major championship by the LPGA Tour.It should not be confused with two other LPGA events with similar names:...
|
4 (78-81-71-74=304)
5 strokes |
Dorothy Kirby Mary Dorothy Kirby was an American golf champion and sportscaster.Born in West Point, Georgia, her family moved to Atlanta when she was ten. At the age of thirteen Dorothy Kirby's victory at the 1933 Georgia Women's Amateur Championship made her the youngest female golfer to ever win a state...
(a) |
| 1948 The 1948 U.S. Women's Open Golf Championship was contested from August 12 to 15 at Atlantic City Country Club. It was the third edition of the U.S. Women's Open.This event was won by Babe Zaharias.-Final leaderboard:-External links:****...
|
U.S. Women's Open |
E (75-72-75-78=300) |
8 strokes |
Betty Hicks |
| 1950 The 1950 Titleholders Championship was contested from March 16-19 at Augusta Country Club. It was the 11th edition of the Titleholders Championship.This event was won by Babe Zaharias.-Final leaderboard:-External links:**...
|
Titleholders Championship The Titleholders Championship was a women's golf tournament played from in 1937 to 1966 and again in 1972. It was later designated a major championship by the LPGA Tour.It should not be confused with two other LPGA events with similar names:...
|
10 (72-78-73-75=298)
8 strokes |
Claire Doran (a) |
| 1950 The 1950 Women's Western Open was a golf competition held at Cherry Hills Country Club, which was the 21st edition of the event. Babe Zaharias won the championship in match play competition by defeating Peggy Kirk in the final match, 5 and 3....
|
Women's Western Open |
5 & 3 |
Peggy Kirk |
| 1950 The 1950 U.S. Women's Open Golf Championship was contested from September 27 to 30 at Rolling Hills Country Club. It was the fifth edition of the U.S. Women's Open.This event was won by Babe Zaharias.-Final leaderboard:-External links:***...
|
U.S. Women's Open |
−9 (75-76-70-70=291) |
9 strokes |
Betsy Rawls Elizabeth Earle "Betsy" Rawls is an American professional golfer.Rawls was born in Spartanburg, South Carolina. After attending the University of Texas, Rawls joined the LPGA Tour in its second season in 1951. She won 55 tournaments on the tour, including eight major championships...
(a) |
| 1952 The 1952 Titleholders Championship was contested from March 13-16 at Augusta Country Club. It was the 13th edition of the Titleholders Championship.This event was won by Babe Zaharias.-Final leaderboard:-External links:*...
|
Titleholders Championship The Titleholders Championship was a women's golf tournament played from in 1937 to 1966 and again in 1972. It was later designated a major championship by the LPGA Tour.It should not be confused with two other LPGA events with similar names:...
|
11 (74-73-73-79=299)
7 strokes |
Betsy Rawls |
| 1954 The 1954 U.S. Women's Open Golf Championship was contested from June 30 to July 3 at Salem Country Club. It was the ninth edition of the U.S. Women's Open.This event was won by Babe Zaharias.-Final leaderboard:-External links:***...
|
U.S. Women's Open |
3 (72-71-73-75=291)
12 strokes |
Betty Hicks |
See also
- Golfers with most LPGA Tour wins
This table lists players with 10 or more wins on the LPGA Tour. It is based on the list on the LPGA Tour's official site, which differs slightly from the main win lists on player's personal profiles on the site...
- Golfers with most LPGA major championship wins
This article lists all the women who have won the LPGA Tour's, past and present major championships by number of victories. The four current majors are shown first in the order in which they are played each season, followed by the three defunct majors in alphabetical order...
External links
- Babe, a 1975 TV movie
A television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to...
biography, at The Internet Movie Database
- Babe Didrikson Zaharias Photos held by the Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
.
- Babe Didrikson Zaharias biography at Golf.about.com
- "Babe Didrikson Zaharias's Legacy Fades," The New York Times, June 25, 2011
- Babe Didrickson Zaharias - Note: Although this is the official site of the Babe Didrickson Zaharias Foundation, it contains a number of notable factual errors. For example, it states that she won all of the events she entered at the 1932 Olympic games when in fact she won two of the three. It states that she graduated from high school; she did not. And it states that she did not smoke, which is also not true.