System Mechanic - Clean, repair, protect, and speed up your PC!Babe Didrickson Zaharias
1911 - 1956
Deemed the greatest female athlete of all time, Babe Didrickson Zaharias died of cancer September 26, 1956. She was 45.
Born the daughter of a Norwegian ship builder June 26, 1911 in Beaumont, Texas, Didrickson was always different from her contemporaries.
In an age when women and athletics didn't mix, Babe proved the exception.
She got the nickname 'Babe' because, like Babe Ruth, she could hit a softball and baseball long distances.
Didrickson was an all-around athlete, trying just about anything.
She excelled in golf, and track and field.
But she also participated in basketball, swimming, handball, and baseball.
In an exhibition of her baseball talents, she once struck out Yankee legend Joe Dimaggio.
Babe showcased her talents in the 1932 summer Olympic Games held in Los Angeles.
There she won gold medals in the javelin and 80 meter hurdles.
She actually won the gold medal in the high jump, but got the silver instead because officials said her headfirst clearance of the bar was illegal.
The other sport in which she excelled was golf.
She took up the game in 1934, and went on to win 35 tournaments.
During one stretch, she won 17 titles in a row.
She won 10 major tournaments, including three U.S. Opens, the last in 1954 after she had been diagnosed with terminal cancer.
Didrickson was a founding member of the Ladies Professional Golf Association, and in 1950 was named by the Associated Press as the Greatest Female Athlete of the First Half of the 20th Century.
Babe married professional wrestler George Zaharias in 1948.
In 1953, Didrickson was diagnosed with terminal colon cancer.
She succumbed to the disease on September 26, 1956.
