Babe Didrikson Zaharias

On December 23, 1938, she married George Zaharias who was a wrestler besides being a part time actor. After their marriage, George acted as his wife’s manager. They had no children.

In 1953, she was under medical treatment for colon cancer for which she even had to have surgery. After the surgery, she continued playing golf and won several tournaments.

Together with her husband, she set up the Babe Zaharias Fund that provides financial support to cancer patients. In 1955, her cancer resurfaced and she had to undergo another surgery. She breathed her last at the age of 45.

Born as Mildred Ella Didrikson in Port Arthur, Texas, USA, Babe Didrikson Zaharias was the sixth of seven children of Ole Didrikson, a ship’s carpenter and cabinetmaker and Hannah Marie Olsen.

In 1915, her family shifted to Beaumont, Texas. There she used to play baseball with local boys. Due to her remarkable performance in hitting home runs, she earned her nick name ‘Babe’, named after Babe Ruth, a renowned American baseball player.

She studied at Beaumont High School. Due to her poor marks, she was forced to repeat the eighth grade. While attending this school, the school authority permitted her to play during her junior years.

Colonel Melvin J. McCombs, the manager of the athletic program at Employers Casualty Company in Dallas was much impressed after watching her performance.

Without completing her studies, she shifted to Dallas to play basketball. She worked as a secretary of Employers Casualty Company in 1929 and played for this company till 1932.

This company used to sponsor the Golden Cyclones, a group of women athletes during 1930s. She led the Golden Cyclones during the Amateur Athletic Union Basketball championship in 1931.

She achieved an important position in this team that became successful in the national championship for three consecutive years. She also played for her company in the 1932 AAU Championship that witnessed one of her best performances.

During this tournament, she took part in eight events within 2 and a half hours. She achieved success in four events at that tournament. At that time she was contemplating taking part in the Olympics.

During the 1932 Olympics organized in Los Angeles, she bagged a gold medal for javelin throw. She also won another gold medal for her praiseworthy performance in the 80-meter hurdles.

This celebrated athlete was a talented seamstress. Besides designing her golf outfits, she was the winner of South Texas State Fair in Beaumont for her expertise in sewing.