Mildred Ella Didrikson (Babe Zaharias) was born in the coastal oil city of Port Arthur in southeastern Texas on June 26, 1911.She died at age 45 in 1956. Babe was a successful athlete in golf, track and field and basketball. She was a seamstress making her own clothes including her golf outfits. And she was a singer with a recording of “I Felt a Little Teardrop” with “Detour” on the “B” side for Mercury Record company.

Babe Didrikson met George Zaharias, a professional wrestler, while playing golf. they were married in St. Louis, Missouri, on December 23, 1938.

Babe earned a spot (well, three spots in the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California. Women were allowed to participate in a maximum of three events. Babe chose well, and she won gold medals in the javelin (143 feet, 4 inches) and hurdles (11.7 seconds). she was disqualified on her last high jump (going over head first) but she did get the silver medal for the previous jumps that were allowed.

In 1935 at the age of 24, she began to enter golf tournaments, because of the brief experience, she was denied amateur status. In January 1938 she was teamed with George Zaharias in a men’s PGA event, The Los Angeles Open. She shot 81 and 84 and missed the cut, but obviously impressed Mr. Zaharias enough that they were married that December.

In the 1940’s and 1950’s, Babe Zaharias was the outstanding female celebrity golfer. Though she missed that first cut in competition against the men, she made three cuts in a row. In 1945, she shot 76-81 to make the two-day cut at the Los Angeles Open making her the first (and currently only) woman in history to make the cut in a regular PGA tour event. She did miss the three-day cut in L.A.shooting a 79. She also made at the Phoenix Open, where she shot 77-72-75-80 finishing in 33rd place and she shot 307 at the Tucson Open. She finished tied for 42nd. Babe played her way into the Phoenix and Tucson opens by playing 36-hole qualifiers. She did not get a sponsor’s exemption for those.

She was inducted into the Hall of Fame of Women’s Golf in 1951. She receivedthe Bob Jones Award. That is the highest honor given by the United States Golf Association for distinguished sportsmanship in golf. In 1957 at the inception of the LPGA Hall of Fame, Babe was one of six of the initial inductees.

LPGA Tour wins (41)

  1  – 1940  Women’s Western Open (as an amateur)
  1  – 1944  Women’s Western Open (as an amateur)
  1  – 1945  Women’s Western Open (as an amateur)
  2  – 1947  Tampa Open, Titleholders Championship (as an amateur)
  3  – 1948  All American Open, World Championship, U.S. Women’s Open
  2  – 1949  World Championship, Eastern Open
  8  – 1950  Titleholders Championship, Pebble Beach Weathervane, Cleveland Weathervane, Women’s Western Open, All-American Open, World Championship, U.S. Women’s Open, 144-hole Weathervane
  9  – 1951  Ponte Verde Beach Women’s Open, Tampa Women’s Open, Lakewood Weathervane, Richmond Women’s Open, Valley Open, Meridian Hills Weathervane, All-American Open, World Championship, Texas Women’s Open
  5  – 1952  Miami Weathervane, Titleholders Championship, Bakersfield Open (tied with Marlene Hagge, Betty Jameson and Betsy Rawls), Fresno Open, Women’s Texas Open
  2  – 1953  Sarasota Open, Babe Zaharias Open
  5  – 1954  Serbin Open, Sarasota Open, Damon RunyanCancer Fund Tournament, U.S. Women’s Open, All-American Open
  2  – 1955  Tampa Open, Peach Blossom Classic

The 10 major championships were:

1940  Western Open  
1944  Western Open  
1945  Western Open  
1947  Titleholders Championship  
1948  Women’s U.S. Open  
1950  Titleholders Championship  
1950  Women’s U.S. Open  
1950  Western Open  
1952  Titleholders Championship  
1954  Women’s U.S. Open