Babe Didrikson Zaharias

Babe Didrikson Zaharias was an American athlete who excelled in track and field, basketball, and golf. She won Olympic gold medals and helped found the Ladies Professional Golf Association.

Mildred Ella Didrikson: Mildred Ella Didrikson was the birth name of American athlete Babe Didrikson Zaharias. Her birth name reveals the identity behind the nickname she made famous.
1932 Summer Olympics: The 1932 Summer Olympics were held in Los Angeles, where Zaharias won two gold medals and one silver medal. These Games made her an international star across multiple track-and-field events.
Ladies Professional Golf Association: The Ladies Professional Golf Association is a professional organization and tour for women golfers, founded in 1950. Zaharias was among the thirteen golfers who founded the organization.
Jackie Joyner-Kersee: Jackie Joyner-Kersee is an American track-and-field athlete who won Olympic medals in the heptathlon and long jump. Her elite success across track events offers a later comparison with Zaharias’s range.
Athletic celebrity: Athletic celebrity is public fame gained through sporting achievement and media attention. Zaharias’s humor and showmanship made her famous beyond sports audiences.
George Zaharias: George Zaharias was a professional wrestler and the husband of Babe Didrikson Zaharias. He supported her career and joined her in public life.
80-meter hurdles: The 80-meter hurdles was an Olympic women’s track event from 1932 through 1968. Zaharias won the event in Los Angeles and set a world record.
Women's professional golf: Women's professional golf is the organized competitive sport of golf played by women for a living. Her victories and promotion helped draw audiences and sponsors to the emerging tour.
Jim Thorpe: Jim Thorpe was an American athlete who won Olympic gold in the pentathlon and decathlon in 1912. Like Zaharias, he became famous for excellence across multiple athletic events.
Women in sports media: Women in sports media are women represented or employed in the coverage and promotion of sport. Her press appearances helped make a woman athlete a nationally recognized public figure.

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World Golf Hall of FameRelated: Her career connects the Hall’s golf story to a wider history of women’s sport.