41 Facts About Babe Didrikson Zaharias

1.

Babe Didrikson Zaharias won two gold medals in track and field at the 1932 Summer Olympics, before turning to professional golf and winning 10 LPGA major championships.

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2.

Babe Didrikson Zaharias later changed the spelling of her surname from Didriksen to Didrikson.

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3.

Babe Didrikson Zaharias moved with her family to 850 Doucette in Beaumont, Texas, at age 4.

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4.

Babe Didrikson Zaharias claimed to have acquired the nickname "Babe" upon hitting five home runs in a childhood baseball game, but her Norwegian mother had called her "Bebe" from the time she was a toddler.

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5.

Babe Didrikson Zaharias claimed to have won the sewing championship at the 1931 State Fair of Texas in Dallas; she did win the South Texas State Fair in Beaumont, embellishing the story many years later in 1953.

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6.

Babe Didrikson Zaharias eventually dropped out without graduating after she moved to Dallas to play basketball.

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7.

Babe Didrikson Zaharias was a singer and a harmonica player and recorded several songs on the Mercury Records label.

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8.

George Babe Didrikson Zaharias, a Greek American, was a native of Pueblo, Colorado.

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9.

Babe Didrikson Zaharias gained world fame in track and field and All-American status in basketball.

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10.

Babe Didrikson Zaharias played organized baseball and softball and was an expert diver, roller-skater, and bowler.

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11.

Babe Didrikson Zaharias's performances were enough to win the team championship, despite her being the sole member of her team.

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12.

Babe Didrikson Zaharias set four world records, winning two gold medals and one silver medal for track and field in the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics.

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13.

Babe Didrikson Zaharias did not compete in the discus throw, as fellow American Lillian Copeland beat her out in the Olympic trials; Copeland went on to win the gold medal in discus.

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14.

Babe Didrikson Zaharias is the only track and field athlete, male or female, to win individual Olympic medals in separate running, throwing and jumping events.

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15.

Babe Didrikson Zaharias was a competitive pocket billiards player, though not a champion.

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16.

Babe Didrikson Zaharias was noted in the January 1933 press for playing a multi-day straight pool match in New York City against female Ruth McGinnis.

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17.

Babe Didrikson Zaharias became America's first female golf celebrity and the leading player of the 1940s and early 1950s.

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18.

Babe Didrikson Zaharias was a founding member of the Ladies Professional Golf Association, in 1950.

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19.

Babe Didrikson Zaharias won the 1947 Titleholders Championship and the 1948 US Women's Open for her fourth and fifth major championships.

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20.

Babe Didrikson Zaharias won 17 straight women's amateur victories, a feat never equaled by anyone.

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21.

In March 1934, Babe Didrikson Zaharias pitched a total of four innings in three Major League spring training exhibition games:.

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22.

Babe Didrikson Zaharias spent time with the House of David barnstorming team and is still recognized as the world record holder for the farthest baseball throw by a woman.

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23.

Babe Didrikson Zaharias had her greatest year in 1950 when she completed the Grand Slam of the three women's majors of the day: the US Open, the Titleholders Championship, and the Women's Western Open, a feat that made her the leader on the money list that year.

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24.

Babe Didrikson Zaharias was a close friend of fellow golfer Betty Dodd.

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25.

Babe Didrikson Zaharias took the Vare Trophy for lowest scoring average, her only win of that trophy, and her 10th and final major with a US Women's Open championship, one month after the surgery and while wearing a colostomy bag.

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26.

On September 27,1956, Babe Didrikson Zaharias died of her illness at the age of forty-five at the John Sealy Hospital in Galveston, Texas.

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27.

Babe Didrikson Zaharias is buried at Forest Lawn Cemetery in her hometown of Beaumont, Texas.

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28.

Babe Didrikson Zaharias used her fame to solicit donations for her cancer fund but as a spokesperson for the American Cancer Society.

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29.

Babe Didrikson Zaharias was named the 10th Greatest North American Athlete of the 20th Century by ESPN.

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30.

Babe Didrikson Zaharias broke the accepted models of femininity in her time, including the accepted models of female athleticism.

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31.

Babe Didrikson Zaharias was one of six initial inductees into the LPGA Hall of Fame at its inception in 1977.

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32.

In 1976, Babe Didrikson Zaharias was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame.

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33.

In 2008, Babe Didrikson Zaharias was inducted into the Colorado Women's Hall of Fame.

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34.

On January 7,2021, Zaharias was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Donald J Trump.

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35.

Babe Didrikson Zaharias is the highest-ranked woman, at No 10, on ESPN's list of the 50 top athletes of the 20th century.

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36.

Babe Didrikson Zaharias broke the mold of what a lady golfer was supposed to be.

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37.

Babe Didrikson Zaharias developed a grooved athletic swing reminiscent of Lee Trevino's, and she was so strong off the tee that a fellow Texan, the great golfer Byron Nelson, once said that he knew of only eight men who could outdrive her.

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38.

In 2014, Babe Didrikson Zaharias was inducted into the Legacy Walk, an outdoor public display that celebrates LGBT history and people.

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39.

Babe Didrikson Zaharias was inducted into the Texas Track and Field Coaches Hall of Fame, Class of 2016.

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40.

Babe Didrikson Zaharias was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom on January 7,2021.

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41.

In 1949, Babe Didrikson Zaharias purchased a golf course in the Forest Hills area of Tampa and lived nearby.

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