They Called Her “Babe,” First Female Sports Star

Born June 26, 1911, in Port Arthur, Texas to Norwegian immigrant parents, Mildred Ella Didrecksen began playing sports while still a young child. “Babe Didrikson” became an outstanding female athlete, the first female sports star.

Babe Didrikson Zaharias achieved titles and acclaim that no other woman had ever achieved. As the first female sports star, she set new world records as an Olympic medalist and became a championship golfer.

Babe’s Early Interest In Sports

When the Didrecksen family moved from Port Arthur, Texas to Beaumont, Mildred played baseball with neighborhood boys. She soon started playing other sports, with the National Women’s History Museum (NWHM) referring to Mildred as “an athletic prodigy from childhood.”

It seemed that whatever sport Mildred wanted to participate in, she quickly shone as a natural star. She enjoyed basketball and played very well, even as a child. Mildred Didrikson soon became known by her nickname wherever she went.

The Origins Of The Nickname

Some discrepancy surrounds the true origin of Mildred being called “Babe,” a nickname that stuck throughout her life. ESPN says that some sources dispute Mildred’s own account of the origin of her nickname. She declared that she got her nickname from boys in awe of her home runs, comparing her to Babe Ruth.

Wherever it originated, by the time Mildred reached her teens, she began working on her goal, which she proclaimed was to be the greatest athlete who ever lived.

From High School To Olympics

Babe enjoyed playing basketball; however, her high school initially refused to let her play. After the school finally relented, she also started playing for the Employers Casualty Company after joining the Dallas team. She won “AAU All-American” each year that she played. Unbeknownst to some, Babe received a salary of $75 a month while playing amateur basketball.

Prior to playing basketball in Dallas, she already had her eye set on competing in the Olympics, specifically in track and field events. She qualified for five events at Olympic trials, yet women were permitted to compete in just three events at that time.

Mildred’s phenomenal abilities shone even before the 1932 Olympics. At trials, she scored 30 points herself, which ESPN explains was eight points more than the runner-up, an entire team of 22 participants.

Babe Didrikson won the gold medal for the javelin throw, setting a new world record. She took another gold in 80-meter hurdles and won a silver medal in the high jump. She initially won, yet judges deemed her high-jump techniques illegal and disqualified her first-place finish.

Moving To Golf As A Career

Although Babe set new records and won many awards for her athletic abilities, many people likely know more about her golf career. She took up golf after the 1932 Olympics. When playing at the 1938 Los Angeles Open, Babe Didrikson met George Zaharias, who became her husband less than a year later. Babe’s name officially became “Babe Didrikson Zaharias” after the marriage.

Babe continued to awe spectators at golf tournaments. She achieved international acclaim after husband George arranged for his wife to play exhibition golf in Australia.

In addition to the Associated Press (AP) naming her “World’s Greatest Woman Athlete of the First Half of the 20th Century” and receiving the Sports Illustrated title, “Female Athlete of the 20th Century – Individual Sports,” AP declared Babe “Woman Athlete of the Year” on six different occasions.

She achieved great strides for women in golf, including these “Great Firsts” listed by the Babe Didrikson Zaharias Museum:

• American to win the British Women’s Amateur
• Woman to win both the British and U.S. Women’s Amateur (1947)
• Woman to win the Western Women’s Open three times (as an amateur and professional)

Babe Didrikson lost her battle with colon cancer and died September 27, 1956, at the age of 45.