Mildred Ella "Babe" Didrikson Zaharias was an American athlete who excelled in golf, basketball, baseball and track and field.
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33 Facts About Mildred Didrikson
2.
Mildred Didrikson 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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3.
Mildred Ella Didrikson was born on June 26,1911, the sixth of seven children, in the coastal city of Port Arthur, Texas.
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4.
Mildred Didrikson later changed the spelling of her surname from Didriksen to Didrikson.
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5.
Mildred Didrikson moved with her family to 850 Doucette in Beaumont, Texas, at age 4.
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6.
Mildred Didrikson 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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7.
Mildred Didrikson 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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8.
Mildred Didrikson eventually dropped out without graduating after she moved to Dallas to play basketball.
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9.
Mildred Didrikson was a singer and a harmonica player and recorded several songs on the Mercury Records label.
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11.
Mildred Didrikson gained world fame in track and field and All-American status in basketball.
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12.
Mildred Didrikson played organized baseball and softball and was an expert diver, roller-skater, and bowler.
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13.
Mildred Didrikson's performances were enough to win the team championship, despite her being the sole member of her team.
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14.
Mildred Didrikson 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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15.
Mildred Didrikson 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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16.
Mildred Didrikson 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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17.
Mildred Didrikson was a competitive pocket billiards player, though not a champion.
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18.
Mildred Didrikson 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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19.
Mildred Didrikson became America's first female golf celebrity and the leading player of the 1940s and early 1950s.
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20.
Mildred Didrikson was a founding member of the Ladies Professional Golf Association, in 1950.
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21.
Mildred Didrikson won the 1947 Titleholders Championship and the 1948 US Women's Open for her fourth and fifth major championships.
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22.
Mildred Didrikson won 17 straight women's amateur victories, a feat never equaled by anyone.
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23.
In March 1934, Mildred Didrikson pitched a total of four innings in three Major League spring training exhibition games:.
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24.
Mildred Didrikson 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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26.
Mildred Didrikson 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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27.
Mildred Didrikson is buried at Forest Lawn Cemetery in her hometown of Beaumont, Texas.
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28.
Mildred Didrikson used her fame to solicit donations for her cancer fund but as a spokesperson for the American Cancer Society.
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29.
Mildred Didrikson was named the 10th Greatest North American Athlete of the 20th Century by ESPN.
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30.
Mildred Didrikson was one of six initial inductees into the LPGA Hall of Fame at its inception in 1977.
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31.
Mildred Didrikson broke the mold of what a lady golfer was supposed to be.
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32.
Mildred Didrikson was inducted into the Texas Track and Field Coaches Hall of Fame, Class of 2016.
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33.
Mildred Didrikson was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom on January 7,2021.
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