Babe Didrikson Zaharias: Champion Athlete

Illustrated with over 80 photographs from Babe Didrikson's career.Babe Didrikson Zaharias was one of America`s most talented athletes. Born in Port Arthur, Texas, in 1911, she moved to Beaumont, Texas, a few years later. Didrikson starred on her high school women's sports teams—basketball, baseball, swimming, tennis, and volleyball—before leaving to play for the Golden Cyclones, a popular corporate-sponsored team. She soon attained all-American status as a basketball player and won the national amateur track-and-field championship. In 1932 Didrikson competed in the Olympics, where she broke several records on her way to winning three medals in track-and-field. She then launched a professional career displaying her skill in sports as varied as baseball, basketball, boxing, football, and hockey. Didrikson entered her first golf tournament in 1934, and quickly established an impressive record as a professional golfer. Her 1938 marriage to professional wrestler George Zaharias provided the financial security she needed to turn amateur and qualify for more prestigious tournaments. Zaharias's outstanding 9-year amateur stint included an unprecedented 17-match winning streak and a victory in the 1947 British Womens Amateur; never before won by an American. In 1949, dissatisfied with the state of professional women's golf she spearheaded the formation of the Ladies Professional Golf Association. Her career fell prey to cancer in 1953, but by the time she died in 1956, many hailed Babe Didrikson Zaharias as "the greatest athlete of all…for all time." Her record remains unsurpassed to this day. American Women of Achievement introduces 50 women whose actions, ideas, and artistry have helped shape the course of American history. These are stories of creativity, courage, and leadership—in the arts and sciences, in government and religion, in private life, and in the public arena. Richly illustrated, American Women of Achievement is written in a lively, colorful style especially for young adults. Matina S. Horner, president of Radcliffe College and a leading scholar of womens lives, puts the series in perspective with an introductory essay on the historic achievements of American women.