Texana Thursday: Babe Didrikson Zaharias, Champion Athlete

When people think of Texans competing in the Olympic Games, they might remember such luminaries as Carl Lewis or Mary Lou Retton. They might remember more recent medalists such as David Boudia, who won both a gold and silver medal in diving at the 2012 Olympics, or Bianca Knight, who also won a gold medal in track at the same Olympics.

Yet perhaps the greatest Olympian from Texas—certainly among the most noteworthy—was Mildred “Babe” Didrickson, of Beaumont, who made her mark many years earlier.

Jim Thorpe poses with Babe Didrikson Zaharias; both were Olympians and considered among the greatest athletes in American history (Beaumont Enterprise photo)

She was born in 1911, in Port Arthur, the sixth of seven children. Her parents, Ole Nickolene and Hanna Marie Didriksen, were Norwegian immigrants.

She had a passion, and talent, for sports. While a youngster, she played sandlot baseball with the neighborhood boys, who nicknamed her “Babe” after the baseball great George Herman “Babe” Ruth. They thought she batted like Ruth. Later, Babe would change the spelling of her last name from Didriksen, with an e, to Didrikson, with an o.

In the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics, she earned a two gold medals and a silver medal in track and field events. The gold medals came in the 80-meter hurdles and in the javelin throw. In the 80-meter hurdles, she set a new world record by completing the race in 11.7 seconds. In the javelin throw, she had a record throw of 43.69 meters (143.44 feet).

Her silver medal came in the high jump. Interestingly, she and a fellow American had tied for first, but Didrikson was ruled to have used an improper technique. Didrikson went over the bar head-first, which was against the rules at the

The Babe Didrikson Zaharias Museum in Beaumont (Creative Commons license attribution: photo courtesy Raymond Clark Images)

time.

Didrikson began playing golf in 1935. She married George Zaharias, a professional wrestler, in 1938. They met when they were paired in a golf tournament. Zaharias managed Babe’s career. She played in the PGA and was later among the creators of the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA).

As a golfer, Zacharias won 10 LPGA major championships, including the U.S. Women’s Open, which she won three times.

Babe Didrikson Zaharias died of cancer in 1956, and was buried in Beaumont. She was 45 years old. George Zaharias remarried in 1960, and died in 1984.

Today, the Babe Didrikson Zaharias Museum, also in Beaumont, houses some of her paraphernalia and memorializes her life and career.