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{{short description|American golfer and athlete}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2017}}
{{Infobox golfer
| name              = Babe Didrikson Zaharias
| image             = NPG 97 211 Didrikson (cropped).jpg
| image_size = 250px
| caption           = Babe Zaharias c. 1947
| fullname          = Mildred Ella Didrikson Zaharias
| nickname          = Babe
| birth_date        = {{Birth date|1911|6|26}}
| birth_place       = [[Port Arthur, Texas]], U.S.
| death_date        = {{Death date and age|1956|9|27|1911|6|26}}
| death_place       = [[Galveston, Texas]], U.S.<ref name=sr>{{cite web |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/di/babe-didrikson-1.html |title=Babe Didrikson |access-date=March 24, 2021 |website=Sports Reference Olympics |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200417161705/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/di/babe-didrikson-1.html |archive-date=April 17, 2020}}</ref>
| height            = 5 ft 7 in<ref name=sr />
| weight            = 126 lbs<ref name=sr />
| nationality       = {{USA}}
| spouse            = {{marriage|[[George Zaharias]]|December 23, 1938}}
| partner           =
| college           =
| yearpro           = 1947
| extour            = [[LPGA Tour]]<br />(joined 1950, its founding)
| prowins           = 48
| lpgawins          = 41
| otherwins         = 7
| majorwins         = 10
| western           = '''Won''': [[1940 Women's Western Open|1940]], [[1944 Women's Western Open|1944]], [[1945 Women's Western Open|1945]], [[1950 Women's Western Open|1950]]
| titleholders      = '''Won''': [[1947 Titleholders Championship|1947]], [[1950 Titleholders Championship|1950]], [[1952 Titleholders Championship|1952]]
| wusopen           = '''Won''': [[1948 U.S. Women's Open|1948]], [[1950 U.S. Women's Open|1950]], [[1954 U.S. Women's Open|1954]]
| wghofid           = babe-zaharias
| wghofyear         = 1974
| award1            = [[LPGA Tour#Leading money winners by year|LPGA Tour<br />Money Winner]]
| year1             = 1950, 1951
| award2            = [[LPGA]] [[LPGA Tour#LPGA Tour awards|Vare Trophy]]
| year2             = 1954
| award3            = [[Associated Press Athlete of the Year|Associated Press<br />Female Athlete of the Year]]
| year3             = 1932, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1950, 1954
| award4            = [[Bob Jones Award]]
| year4             = 1957
| award5            = [[Presidential Medal of Freedom]]
| year5             = 2021
| awardssection     = <!-- location of awards page or section -->
}}
{{Infobox sportsperson|nocat_wdimage=y
| name           = 
| image          =
| image_size     = 
| caption        = 
| birth_name     = 
| fullname       = 
| nationality    = 
| residence      = 
| birth_date     = 
| birth_place    = 
| death_date     = 
| death_place    = 
| height         = 
| weight         = 
| country        = 
| sport          = Athletics
| event = Sprint, 80&nbsp;m hurdles, [[high jump]], [[long jump]], [[javelin throw]], [[discus throw]], [[shot put]]
| pb = 80 mH – 11.7 (1932)<br />100 m – 12.3 (1931)<br />200 m – 25.6 (1931)<br />HJ – 1.65 m (1932)<br />LJ – 5.70 m (1930)<br />JT – 43.69 m (1932)<br />DT – 42.06 m (1932)<br />SP – 12.04 m (1932)<ref name=sr /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://trackfield.brinkster.net/Profile.asp?ID=579&Gender=W |title=Mildred Didrikson |access-date=March 24, 2021}}</ref>
| club           = Employers' Casualty Co. Club
| alma_mater = 
| olympics       = 
| highestranking = 
| show-medals    = yes
| medaltemplates =
{{Medal|Country | the {{USA}}}}
{{Medal|Competition|[[Olympic Games]]}}
{{Medal|Gold| [[1932 Summer Olympics|1932 Los Angeles]] | [[Athletics at the 1932 Summer Olympics – Women's 80 metres hurdles|80 m hurdles]]}}
{{Medal|Gold| 1932 Los Angeles | [[Athletics at the 1932 Summer Olympics – Women's javelin throw|Javelin throw]]}}
{{Medal|Silver| 1932 Los Angeles | [[Athletics at the 1932 Summer Olympics – Women's high jump|High jump]]}}
}}

'''Mildred Ella''' "'''Babe'''" '''Didrikson Zaharias''' ({{IPAc-en|z|ə|ˈ|h|ɑr|i|ə|s}}; {{née}} '''Didrikson'''; June 26, 1911 – September 27, 1956) was an American athlete who excelled in [[golf]], [[basketball]], [[baseball]], and [[track and field]]. She won two gold medals and a silver in track and field at the [[1932 Summer Olympics]] before turning to professional golf and winning 10 [[LPGA]] major championships.

==Biography==
Mildred Ella Didrikson was born on June 26, 1911,<ref name=Gianoulis/> the sixth of seven children, in the coastal [[city]] of [[Port Arthur, Texas|Port Arthur]], [[Texas]]. Her mother Hannah and her father Ole Didriksen were immigrants from [[Norway]]. Although her three eldest siblings were born in Norway, Babe and her three other siblings were born in Port Arthur. She later changed the spelling of her surname from Didriksen to Didrikson.<ref name=ESPN>{{cite news |last1=Schwartz |first1=Larry |title=Didrikson was a woman ahead of her time |url=https://www.espn.com/sportscentury/features/00014147.html |work=ESPN |access-date=September 10, 2007 |date=<!-- Undated feature article. Companion article refers to December 3, 2004 as upcoming broadcast date -->}}</ref> She moved with her family to 850 Doucette in [[Beaumont, Texas]], at age 4. She claimed to have acquired the nickname "Babe" (after [[Babe Ruth]]) upon hitting five [[home run]]s in a childhood [[baseball]] game, but her Norwegian mother had called her "Bebe" from the time she was a toddler.<ref name="wondergirl" />

Although best known for her athletic gifts, Didrikson had many talents. She also competed in sewing. An excellent [[seamstress]], she made many of her clothes, including her golfing outfits. She claimed to have won the sewing championship at the 1931 [[State Fair of Texas]] in [[Dallas]]; she did win the [[South Texas State Fair]] in Beaumont, embellishing the story many years later in 1953. She attended Beaumont High School. Never a strong student, she was forced to repeat the eighth grade and was a year older than her classmates. She eventually dropped out without graduating after she moved to Dallas to play basketball.<ref name="wondergirl">{{cite book |last=Van Natta |first=Don Jr. |title=Wonder Girl: The Magnificent Sporting Life of Babe Didrikson Zaharias |publisher=[[Little, Brown and Company]] |date=June 2011 |isbn=978-0-316-05699-1 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/wondergirlmagnif0000vann}}</ref> She was a singer and a [[harmonica]] player and recorded several songs on the [[Mercury Records]] label. Her biggest seller was "I Felt a Little Teardrop" with "Detour" on the flip side.<ref name=teardrop>{{cite web |url=https://www.poemhunter.com/babe-didrikson-zaharias/biography/ |title=Babe Didrikson Zaharias Biography |website=PoemHunter.com |access-date=November 12, 2018}}</ref>

Already famous as Babe Didrikson, she married [[George Zaharias]] (1908–1984), a professional [[wrestler]], in [[St. Louis, Missouri]], on December 23, 1938. Thereafter, she was largely known as '''Babe Didrikson Zaharias''' or '''Babe Zaharias'''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Babe Didrikson Zaharias {{!}} Biography & Facts |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Babe-Didrikson-Zaharias |access-date=2024-02-07 |website=Britannica |language=en}}</ref>

[[File:Babe Zaharias Park IMG 1064.JPG|220px|right|thumb|Babe Zaharias Park is located in [[Beaumont, Texas|Beaumont]] adjacent to her [[Babe Didrikson Zaharias Museum & Visitor Center|museum]].]]

===Athletic achievements===
Didrikson gained world fame in [[track and field]] and [[All-America]]n status in basketball. She played organized baseball and softball and was an expert diver, roller-skater, and bowler.{{citation needed|date=October 2022}}

====AAU champion====
Didrikson's first job after high school was as a secretary for the Employers' Casualty Insurance Company of Dallas, though she was employed only in order to play [[basketball]] as an amateur on the company's "industrial team", the [[Golden Cyclones]].<ref name=NPRBooks>{{cite web |title=Remembering A 'Babe' Sports Fans Shouldn't Forget |url=https://www.npr.org/2011/06/26/137319975/remembering-a-babe-sports-fans-shouldnt-forget |publisher=NPR |access-date=August 2, 2015 |date=June 26, 2011}}</ref> As a side note, the competition was then governed by the [[Amateur Athletic Union]] (AAU). Despite leading the team to an AAU Basketball Championship in 1931,<ref name="Ikard33"/> Didrikson had first achieved wider attention as a track and field athlete.

Representing her company in the [[1932 United States Olympic Trials (track and field)|1932 AAU Championships]], she competed in eight out of ten events, winning five outright, and tying for first in a sixth. Didrikson's performances were enough to win the team championship, despite her being the sole member of her team.<ref name=ESPN/>

====1932 Olympics====
Didrikson set four world records, winning two gold medals and one silver medal in track and field in the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics.<ref name="achieve">{{cite web |title=Record of Achievement |publisher=babedidriksonzaharias.org |url=http://www.babedidriksonzaharias.org/achievements.cfm |access-date=April 22, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927080531/http://www.babedidriksonzaharias.org/achievements.cfm |archive-date=September 27, 2007}}</ref><ref name=cool>{{Cite web |url=https://coololdphotos.com/babe-didrickson-greatest-female-athlete-ever/ |title=Babe Didrickson - Greatest Female Athlete Ever |date=2015-03-20 |website=Cool Old Photos |access-date=2019-02-23 |df=mdy-all}}</ref> In the 80-meter hurdles, she equaled the world record of 11.8 seconds in her opening heat. In the final, she broke her record with an 11.7 clocking, taking gold. In the javelin, she also won gold with an Olympic record throw of 43.69 meters. In the high jump, she took silver with a world record-tying leap of {{convert|1.657|m|ft}}. Fellow American [[Jean Shiley]] also jumped 1.657 metres, and the pair tied in a jump-off when the bar was raised to {{convert|1.67|m|ft}}. Shiley was awarded the gold after Didrikson was ruled to have used an improper technique.<ref name=sr/> She did not compete in the discus throw, as fellow American [[Lillian Copeland]] beat her out in the Olympic trials; Copeland went on to win the gold medal in discus.<ref name="auto">[https://olympics.com/en/athletes/lillian-copeland "Lillian Copeland,"] Olympics.com.</ref>

Before the 1932 games, Didrikson was involved in a racial incident involving fellow athletes [[Tidye Pickett]] and [[Louise Stokes]], both of whom are black. In Denver, on a train, Didrikson threw water on Pickett and Stokes, because Didrikson didn't like having African-American athletes on the team. Pickett and Stokes were later removed from the team, and replaced by white athletes who had qualified with slower times from the trials.<ref name="racism">{{cite web |title=Sports History Forgot About Tidye Pickett and Louise Stokes, Two Black Olympians Who Never Got Their Shot |publisher=www.smithsonianmag.com |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/sports-history-forgot-about-tidye-pickett-and-louise-stokes-two-black-olympians-who-never-got-their-shot-glory-180960138/ |access-date=July 22, 2024}}</ref>

Didrikson is the only track and field athlete, male or female, to win individual Olympic medals in separate running, throwing, and jumping events.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://usopm.org/babe-didrikson/ |title=Babe Didrikson |date=July 20, 2019 |publisher=[[United States Olympic & Paralympic Museum]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://olympics.com/en/news/babe-didrikson-an-olympic-legend-with-the-midas-touch |title=Babe Didrikson: An Olympic legend with the Midas touch |publisher=[[International Olympic Committee]]}}</ref>

====Post-Olympics====
In the following years, she performed on the [[Vaudeville|vaudeville circuit]], traveled with teams like Babe Didrikson's All-Americans basketball team and the bearded [[House of David (commune)]] team. Didrikson was also a competitive [[pocket billiards]] (pool) player, though not a champion. She was noted in the January 1933 press for playing (and badly losing) a multi-day [[straight pool]] match in New York City against famed female {{Cuegloss|Cueist|cueist}} [[Ruth McGinnis]].<ref name="SanAntonio19330116">{{Cite news |title=Babe Didrikson Gets Trouncing at Billiards |newspaper=San Antonio Express |page=9 |location=[[San Antonio, Texas]] |date=January 16, 1933}}</ref>

====Golf====
[[File:George and Babe Zaharias.jpg|thumb|George and Babe Zaharias c. 1955]]

By 1935, Didrikson began to play [[golf]], a latecomer to the sport in which she became best known. Shortly thereafter, she was denied amateur status and consequently, in January 1938, she competed in the [[Los Angeles Open]], a [[Professional Golfers' Association of America|PGA]] (Professional Golfers' Association) tournament. No other woman competed against men in this tournament until [[Annika Sörenstam]], [[Suzy Whaley]], [[Michelle Wie]], and [[Brittany Lincicome]] almost six decades later. She shot 81 and 84, and missed the cut. In the tournament, she was teamed with George Zaharias. They were married eleven months later, and settled in [[Tampa, Florida]], on the premises of a golf course that they purchased in 1949.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://babezahariasgolf.net/history | title=History }}</ref>

Didrikson became America's first female golf celebrity and the leading player of the 1940s and early 1950s. In order to regain amateur status in the sport, she could compete in no other sports for three years. She gained back her amateur status in 1942. In 1945, she participated in three more PGA Tour events, missing the cut of one of them, and making the cut of the other two; as of 2023, she remains the only woman to make the tournament cut in a regular PGA Tour event.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.lpga.com/players/babe-zaharias/82800/bio |title=Babe Zaharias: Bio |publisher=LPGA |archive-date=September 29, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230929045248/https://www.lpga.com/players/babe-zaharias/82800/bio |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.worldgolfhalloffame.org/news/babe-zaharias-genesis-open/ |title=The First Woman to Play on the Men's Tour: Babe Zaharias |publisher=World Golf Hall of Fame |date=February 14, 2018 |first=Tony |last=Parker}}</ref> Zaharias won the 1946 [[U.S. Women's Amateur]] and the 1947 [[British Ladies Amateur]]&nbsp;– the first American to do so&nbsp;– and three [[Women's Western Open]]s. Having formally turned professional in 1947, Didrikson dominated the Women's Professional Golf Association and later the [[Ladies Professional Golf Association]]. She was a founding member of the Ladies Professional Golf Association, in 1950.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.lpga.com/careers-about/about-our-founders |title=About the LPGA - Our Founders |publisher=LPGA}}</ref> Serious illness ended her career in the mid-1950s.{{citation needed|date=October 2022}}

Zaharias won a tournament named after her, the [[Babe Zaharias Open]] of her hometown of [[Beaumont, Texas]]. She won the 1947 [[Titleholders Championship]] and the 1948 [[U.S. Women's Open]] for her fourth and fifth [[women's majors|major championships]]. She won 17 straight women's amateur victories, a feat never equaled by anyone. By 1950, she had won every golf title available. Totaling both her amateur and professional victories, Zaharias won a total of 82 golf tournaments.{{citation needed|date=October 2022}}

Charles McGrath of ''[[The New York Times]]'' wrote of Zaharias, "Except perhaps for [[Arnold Palmer]], no golfer has ever been more beloved by the gallery."<ref name="NYTM">
{{cite web |title=Most Valuable Player |work=[[The New York Times Magazine]] |first=Charles |last=McGrath |year=1996 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/specials/magazine4/articles/zaharias.html |access-date=April 22, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070516085746/http://www.nytimes.com/specials/magazine4/articles/zaharias.html |archive-date=May 16, 2007}}</ref>

===Golf awards===
While Zaharias missed the cut in the 1938 [[PGA Tour]] event, later, as she became more experienced, she made the cut in every PGA Tour event she entered. In January 1945, Zaharias played in three PGA tournaments. She shot 76–76 to qualify for the [[Los Angeles Open]].<ref name=pga2007>{{cite book |title=PGA TOUR 2007 Guide |year=2006 |publisher=PGA Tour |pages=6–8}}</ref> She then shot 76–81 to make the two-day cut in the tournament itself, but missed the three-day cut after a 79, making her the first (and currently only) woman in history to make the cut in a regular PGA Tour event.{{clarify|date=March 2024|reason=First and only woman to make the cut?}} She continued her cut streak at the [[Phoenix Open]], where she shot 77-72-75-80, finishing in 33rd place.<ref name=pga2007/> At the [[Tucson Open]], she qualified by shooting 74-81 and then shot a 307 in the tournament and finished tied for 42nd.<ref name=pga2007/> Unlike other female golfers competing in men's events, she got into the Los Angeles<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=w_ZPAAAAIBAJ&pg=3380,4535186&dq=los-angeles+zaharias+golf+baldwin&hl=en |title=Coltart Smashes Par Seven Shots At Los Angeles |newspaper=[[The Evening Independent]] |location=[[St. Petersburg, Florida]] |agency=[[Associated Press|AP]] |date=January 4, 1945 |page=15 |access-date=February 1, 2012}}</ref> and Tucson Opens through 36-hole qualifiers, as opposed to a sponsor's exemption.<ref name="About.com">{{cite web |title=Babe Didrikson Zaharias |first=Brent |last=Kelley |publisher=About.com |url=http://golf.about.com/od/golferswomen/p/babe_zaharias.htm |access-date=February 1, 2012 |archive-date=May 20, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070520193522/http://golf.about.com/od/golferswomen/p/babe_zaharias.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In 1948, she became the first woman to attempt to qualify for the [[U.S. Open (golf)|U.S. Open]], but her application was rejected by the [[USGA]]. They stated that the event was intended to be open to men only.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=K01hAAAAIBAJ&pg=2239,1001149&dq=los-angeles+zaharias+golf&hl=en |title=The Babe 'Not Welcome' In National Open Play |newspaper=[[The Telegraph Herald]] |location=[[Dubuque, Iowa]] |agency=[[Associated Press|AP]] |date=April 7, 1948 |page=11 |access-date=February 1, 2012}}</ref>

===Baseball===
In March 1934, Didrikson [[Pitch (baseball)|pitched]] a total of four [[inning]]s in three [[Major League Baseball|Major League]] [[spring training]] exhibition games:
* On March 20 she gave up one [[Walk (baseball)|walk]] and no [[Hit (baseball)|hits]] in one inning for the [[Philadelphia Athletics]] against the [[Brooklyn Dodgers]], getting out of the inning with a [[triple play]].<ref name=Guerrieri>{{cite journal |url=https://sabr.org/journal/article/babe-didrikson-and-baseball/ |title=Babe Didrikson and Baseball |first=Vince |last=Guerrieri |date=Spring 2022 |journal=Baseball Research Journal}}</ref>
* On March 22 she pitched the first inning for the [[St. Louis Cardinals]] against the [[Boston Red Sox]]. It was reported that "Under tutelage of [[Burleigh Grimes]], [[Dizzy Dean]], and others she has learned to stand on the [[Pitcher's mound|rubber]], [[Windup position|wind up]] like a big leaguer and throw a rather fair [[Curveball|curve]]."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/138925156/ |title=Sport Salad |website=newspapers.com |date=March 23, 1934 |agency=St. Louis Post |page=45 |access-date=March 24, 2021}}</ref> The Red Sox scored three runs against Didrikson in the inning before she got Boston third baseman [[Bucky Walters]] to [[fly out]] to future [[Baseball Hall Of Fame|Hall of Famer]] [[Joe Medwick]] in left field to end the inning. She was relieved at the start of the second inning by Cardinal pitcher [[Bill Hallahan]]. 400 fans were in attendance.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://stltoday.newspapers.com/clip/18519800/march_22_1934_olympic_star_babe/ |title=Babe Didrikson Hurls Inning for Cardinals; Medwick pounds ball |newspaper=[[St. Louis Post-Dispatch]] |date=March 22, 1934 |first=J. Roy |last=Stockton}}</ref>
* On March 25 she played for the [[Cleveland Indians]] against their Double-A farm team, the [[New Orleans Pelicans (baseball)|New Orleans Pelicans]], pitching two scoreless innings and hitting two line drives, one fair and one foul.<ref name=Guerrieri/>

Didrikson also spent time with the [[House of David (commune)|House of David]] barnstorming team<ref>{{Cite web |title=House of David Players |url=http://www.houseofdavidbaseball.com/players/a-h.asp |access-date=2021-10-26 |website=www.houseofdavidbaseball.com}}</ref> and is still recognized as the world record holder for the farthest baseball throw by a woman.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://prestonjg.wordpress.com/2013/07/21/the-record-for-the-longest-baseball-throw-by-a-woman/ |title=The Record for the Longest Baseball Thrown by a Woman |website=The J.G. Preston Experience |date=July 21, 2013 |access-date=March 24, 2021}}</ref>

===Last years and death===
Zaharias had her greatest year in 1950 when she completed the [[Grand Slam (golf)|Grand Slam]] of the three women's majors of the day: the U.S. Open, the Titleholders Championship, and the Women's Western Open, a feat that made her the leader on the money list that year. Also that year, she reached 10 wins faster than any other LPGA golfer, doing so in one year and 20 days, a record that still stands (as do her records for reaching 20 and 30 wins, in two years and four months and five years and 22 days, respectively).<ref>LPGA All-Time Records, [[LPGA]]</ref> She was the leading money-winner again in 1951, and in 1952 took another major with a Titleholders victory, but illness prevented her from playing a full schedule in 1952–53.

She was a close friend of fellow golfer [[Betty Dodd]]. According to [[Susan Cayleff]]'s biography ''Babe,'' Dodd was quoted as saying, "I had such admiration for this fabulous person [Zaharias]. I loved her. I would have done anything for her."<ref name=cayleff>{{cite book |first=Susan E. |last=Cayleff |title=Babe: The Life and Legend of Babe Didrikson Zaharias |publisher=University of Illinois Press |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-252-06593-4}}</ref> They met in a 1950 amateur golf tournament in Miami and became close almost immediately. Cayleff wrote, "As Didrikson's marriage grew increasingly troubled, she spent more time with Dodd. The women toured together on the golf circuit, and eventually Dodd moved in with Zaharias and Didrikson for the last six years of Didrikson's life."<ref name="Cayleff, Susan E 2004, pp. 304-306">{{cite encyclopedia |editor-first=Mark |editor-last=Stein |title=Didrikson, Mildred Ella |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered History in America |volume=1 |publisher=Charles Scribner's Sons |year=2004 |pages=304–306 |location=New York City}}</ref> They never used the word "[[lesbian]]" to describe their relationship, but there is little doubt that their relationship was both sexual and romantic,<ref name=Gianoulis>{{cite web |last1=Gianoulis |first1=Tina |title=Didrikson, Mildred "Babe" (1911–1956) |url=http://www.glbtqarchive.com/arts/didrikson_m_A.pdf |publisher=glbtq Archives |access-date=August 2, 2015}}</ref><ref name=cayleff/> and Zaharias has been described as the first lesbian gold medallist in Olympic athletics.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.autostraddle.com/the-history-of-lgbtq-women-in-the-olympics/ |title=The History of LGBTQ Women in the Olympics |work=[[Autostraddle]] |date=August 3, 2021 |access-date=August 8, 2021}}</ref>

In 1953, Zaharias was diagnosed with [[colon cancer]]. After undergoing surgery, she made a comeback in 1954. She took the [[LPGA Tour#LPGA Tour awards|Vare Trophy]] for lowest scoring average, her only win of that trophy, and her 10th and final major with a U.S. Women's Open championship, one month after the surgery and while wearing a [[colostomy bag]]. With this win, she became the second-oldest woman to win a major LPGA championship tournament (behind [[Fay Crocker]]). Babe Zaharias now stands third to Crocker and [[Sherri Steinhauer]]. These wins made her the fastest player to reach 30 wins (five years and 22 days).<ref name="About.com"/> In addition to continuing tournament play, Zaharias also served as the president of the LPGA from August 1952 to July 1955.<ref name=LPGABio>{{cite web |title=Babe Zaharias Bio |url=http://www.lpga.com/players/babe-zaharias/82800/bio |publisher=LPGA |access-date=August 2, 2015}}</ref>

Her colon cancer recurred in 1955. Despite her limited schedule of eight golfing events that season, Zaharias won her last two tournaments in competitive golf. On September 27, 1956, Zaharias died of her illness at the age of forty-five at the [[John Sealy Hospital]] in [[Galveston, Texas]]. At the time of her death, she was still a top-ranked female golfer. She and her husband had earlier established the Babe Zaharias Fund to support cancer clinics.<ref name="Death">{{cite news |title=Babe Zaharias Dies. Athlete Had Cancer |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=September 29, 1956 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/specials/magazine4/articles/zaharias1.html |access-date=April 22, 2007 |quote=Mrs. Mildred (Babe) Didrikson Zaharias, famed woman athlete, died of cancer in John Sealy Hospital here this morning. She was 42 years old. Mrs. Zaharias had been under treatment since 1953, when the malignant condition was discovered after she had won a golf tournament. ... |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070524092301/http://www.nytimes.com/specials/magazine4/articles/zaharias1.html |archive-date=May 24, 2007}}</ref> She is buried at Forest Lawn Cemetery in her hometown of Beaumont, Texas.<ref>{{cite book |first=Scott |last=Wilson |title=Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons |edition=3 |volume=2 |publisher=McFarland & Company, Inc. |location=Jefferson, North Carolina |date=2016}}</ref>

During her final years, Zaharias became known not only for her athletic abilities but as a public advocate for cancer awareness, at a time when many Americans refused to seek diagnosis or treatment for suspected cancer.<ref>{{cite book |first=Don Jr. |last=Van Natta |title=Wonder Girl: The Magnificent Sporting Life of Babe Didrikson Zaharias |publisher=Back Bay Books |location=New York City |date=2013 |isbn=978-0316067492}}</ref> She used her fame to solicit donations for her cancer fund but also as a spokesperson for the [[American Cancer Society]]. Her work in this area was honored by US President [[Dwight Eisenhower]] on a visit to the White House.<ref name="Cayleff, Susan E 2004, pp. 304-306"/>

==Legacy==
She was named the 10th Greatest North American Athlete of the 20th Century by [[ESPN]], being the highest-ranked woman on their list.<ref name=espnvote>{{cite news |work=ESPN |title=Top N. American athletes of the century |url=https://www.espn.com/sportscentury/athletes.html |access-date=September 30, 2008}}</ref>

[[File:Zaharias museum.jpg|thumb|The [[Babe Didrikson Zaharias Museum & Visitor Center|Babe Didrikson Zaharias Museum]] in Beaumont is also one of the city's welcoming centers.]]
Zaharias broke the accepted models of [[femininity]] in her time, including the accepted models of female athleticism. Standing {{height|ft=5|in=7}} tall and weighing {{convert|115|lb|abbr=on}},<ref name=FAQ>{{cite web |title=FAQs |url=http://www.babedidriksonzaharias.org/?page_id=77 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141023064420/http://www.babedidriksonzaharias.org/?page_id=77 |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 23, 2014 |publisher=Babe Didrikson Zaharias Foundation |access-date=August 2, 2015 |location=Beaumont, Texas}}</ref> Zaharias was physically strong and socially straightforward about her strength. Although a sports hero to many, she was also derided for her "manliness".<ref name="ESPN"/>

Zaharias was inducted into the [[LPGA]] Hall of Fame in 1951 (now part of the [[World Golf Hall of Fame]]). In 1957, she posthumously received the [[Bob Jones Award]], the highest honor given by the [[United States Golf Association]] in recognition of distinguished sportsmanship in golf. It was accepted by her husband George, four months after her death.<ref name="bjtawlgr">{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=g5IhAAAAIBAJ&pg=4068%2C3548289 |newspaper=Reading Eagle |agency=Associated Press |title=Bob Jones Trophy awarded to late great Babe Zaharias |date=January 27, 1957 |page=26}}</ref> She was one of six initial inductees into the [[LPGA]] Hall of Fame at its inception in 1977.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-08-22 |title=Women in Golf: Trailblazers and Their Impact - Fix Golf Slice |url=https://fixgolfslice.com/women-in-golf-trailblazers-and-their-impact/ |access-date=2023-08-28 |language=en-US}}</ref>

Zaharias has a museum dedicated to her in Beaumont, Texas the [[Babe Didrikson Zaharias Museum & Visitor Center|Babe Didrikson Zaharias Museum]]. Several golf courses are named after her. A [[Tampa, Florida]] golf course that she and her husband owned, the Babe Zaharias Golf Course, was given landmark status.<ref name=BZGC>{{cite web |url=http://www.babezahariasgc.com/content.php?link=course_history.php |title=Babe Zaharias Golf Course History |publisher=Babe Zaharias Golf Course |access-date=March 25, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070202114450/http://babezahariasgc.com/content.php?link=course_history.php |archive-date=February 2, 2007}}</ref>

In 1973, Zaharias, who had lived in the Denver area for most of the 1940s and early 1950s, became one of the three inductees in the inaugural class (joining [[Dave Hill (golfer)|Dave Hill]] and Babe Lind) of the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Year of Induction 73-74 |url=https://www.coloradogolfhalloffame.org/year-of-induction-73-74 |access-date=November 13, 2020 |website=cologolfhof |language=en |archive-date=November 13, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201113161244/https://www.coloradogolfhalloffame.org/year-of-induction-73-74 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 1976, Zaharias was inducted into the [[National Women's Hall of Fame]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.womenofthehall.org/inductee/mildred-babe-didrikson-zaharias/ |website=National Women's Hall of Fame |title=Mildred Babe Didrikson Zaharias |access-date=March 24, 2021}}</ref>

In 1981, the [[United States Postal Service|U.S. Postal Service]] issued an 18 cent stamp [[Commemorative stamp|commemorating]] Zaharias.<ref name=pshath>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=VVMaAAAAIBAJ&pg=6571%2C2449777 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151025095334/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=VVMaAAAAIBAJ&sjid=zSkEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6571%2C2449777 |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 25, 2015 |newspaper=The Milwaukee Journal |title=Postal service honors athletes |date=September 6, 1981 |page=8, part 4}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=American Sports Personalities |publisher=United States Postal Service |url=http://www.uspsstamps.com/stamps/series/american-sports-personalities |access-date=October 22, 2013 |archive-date=October 23, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131023060131/http://www.uspsstamps.com/stamps/series/american-sports-personalities |url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2008, Zaharias was inducted into the [[Colorado Women's Hall of Fame]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cogreatwomen.org/project/mildred-babe-didrikson-zaharias/ |website=Colorado Women's Hall of Fame |title=Mildred "Babe" Didrikson Zaharias |access-date=March 24, 2021}}</ref>

On January 7, 2021, Zaharias was awarded the [[Presidential Medal of Freedom]] by President [[Donald Trump|Donald J. Trump]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.foxnews.com/sports/trump-annika-sorenstam-gary-player-babe-zaharias-presidential-medal-of-freedom |title=Trump honors Annika Sorenstam, Gary Player, Babe Zaharias with Presidential edal of Freedom |last=Gaydos |first=Ryan |date=January 7, 2021 |website=Fox News |access-date=March 24, 2021}}</ref>

===Contemporary impressions===
{{quotation|It would be much better if she and her ilk stayed at home, got themselves prettied up and waited for the phone to ring.|sportswriter Joe Williams|''[[New York World-Telegram]]''<ref name="ESPN" />}}

Williams' remark typified the attitude of some toward women who did not fit the traditional ideals of femininity current in the first half of the 20th century. However, in the same time period, the [[Associated Press]] chose her as the "Female Athlete of the Year" six times for track & field and for golfing, and, in 1950, overwhelmingly voted for her as the "Greatest Female Athlete of the First Half of the Century".<ref name="ESPN"/> Aside from her impact on the women and girls of her time, she impressed seasoned sportswriters also:

{{quotation|She is beyond all belief until you see her perform...Then you finally understand that you are looking at the most flawless section of muscle harmony, of complete mental and physical coordination, the world of sport has ever seen.|sportswriter [[Grantland Rice]]|quoted by ESPN<ref name="ESPN" />}}

===Modern-day===
The [[Associated Press]] followed up its 1950 declaration fifty years later by voting Zaharias the ''Woman Athlete of the 20th Century'' in 1999. In 2000, ''[[Sports Illustrated]]'' magazine also named her second on its list of the Greatest Female Athletes of All Time, behind the [[heptathlete]] [[Jackie Joyner-Kersee]]. She is also in the [[World Golf Hall of Fame]]. Zaharias is the highest-ranked woman, at No. 10, on [[ESPN]]'s list of the 50 top athletes of the 20th century. In 2000, she was ranked as the 17th-greatest golfer, and the second-greatest woman player (after [[Mickey Wright]]) by ''[[Golf Digest]]'' magazine.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0HFI/is_7_51/ai_63015233 |title=50 Greatest Golfers of All Time: And What They Taught Us |access-date=December 5, 2007 |last=Yocom |first=Guy |date=July 2000 |work=[[Golf Digest]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071217174706/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0HFI/is_7_51/ai_63015233 |archive-date=December 17, 2007}}</ref>

{{Blockquote|She broke the mold of what a lady golfer was supposed to be. The ideal in the 20s and 30s was [[Joyce Wethered]], a willowy Englishwoman with a picture-book swing that produced elegant shots but not especially long ones. Zaharias developed a grooved athletic swing reminiscent of [[Lee Trevino]]'s, and she was so strong off the tee that a fellow Texan, the great golfer [[Byron Nelson]], once said that he knew of only eight men who could outdrive her. "It's not enough just to swing at the ball," Babe said. "You've got to loosen your girdle and really let the ball have it."|journalist Charles McGrath|''New York Times''<ref name="NYTM" />}}

Zaharias wrote an autobiography ''This Life I've Led''. It is no longer in print but is available in many libraries.<ref name="FAQ" />

In 2014, Zaharias was inducted into the [[Legacy Walk]], an outdoor public display that celebrates [[LGBT]] history and people.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-gay-plaque-wrigleyville-20141012-story.html |title=Legacy Walk honors LGBT 'guardian angels' |date=October 11, 2014 |newspaper=Chicago Tribune}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.advocate.com/pride/2014/10/11/photos-7-lgbt-heroes-honored-plaques-chicagos-legacy-walk?page=full |title=PHOTOS: 7 LGBT Heroes Honored With Plaques in Chicago's Legacy Walk |date=October 11, 2014 |publisher=Advocate.com}}</ref>

She was inducted into the Texas Track and Field Coaches Hall of Fame, Class of 2016.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ttfca.org/inductees |title=Inductees - Name, Category, Year |website=Texas Track & Field Coaches Association |access-date=March 24, 2021}}</ref>

===Babe Zaharias Golf Course===
In 1949, Zaharias purchased a golf course in the [[Forest Hills (Tampa), Florida|Forest Hills]] area of [[Tampa]] and lived nearby. After her death, the golf course was sold. It lay dormant as developers attempted to acquire the land for residential housing.

In 1974, the City of Tampa took over the golf course, renovated it, and reopened it, naming it the Babe Zaharias Golf Course. At some point afterward, it was accorded historical-landmark status.<ref name="BZGC"/>

===California course===
In 1980, the [[Industry Hills Golf Club]] at Pacific Palms Resort in [[City of Industry, California]] built two courses, The Ike and The Zaharias.<ref name=IHGC>{{cite web |url=http://www.ihgolfclub.com/course-practice/zaharias-course |title=The Zaharias (The Babe) |publisher=Industry Hills Golf Club at Pacific Palms Resort |access-date=January 20, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150120183740/http://www.ihgolfclub.com/course-practice/zaharias-course |archive-date=January 20, 2015}}</ref> The courses were designed by William F. Bell (original design) and Casey O'Callaghan (renovation). In 2010, the courses together won the National Golf Course Owners Association's California Golf Course of the Year Award.<ref name=NGCOA>{{cite web |url=http://www.ngcoa.org/pageview.asp?doc=2336 |title=2010 Chapter Courses of the Year |publisher=National Golf Course Owners Association |access-date=January 20, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150120184323/http://www.ngcoa.org/pageview.asp?doc=2336 |archive-date=January 20, 2015}}</ref>

{{quotation|This 18-hole course is named for Babe Didrikson Zaharias, one of America 's most decorated all-around athletes... This par 71 features slope ratings ranging from 126 to 138, making the course worthy of the great athlete for which it is named.|Industry Hills Golf Club at Pacific Palms Resort Website<ref name="IHGC" />}}

===In the media===
{{More citations needed|section|date=June 2021}}

* Dodge featured Babe Didrikson in advertisements for the 1933 Dodge "6" sedan.<ref>{{Cite magazine |url=http://archive.org/details/sim_time_1933-09-11_22_11 |magazine=Time |title=Dodge Owners Save Over $150 On Upkeep Expense Alone|volume=22 |issue= 11 |date=1933-09-11 |language=English}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Charello |first=Michelle |title=Essentials of Social Media Marketing |publisher=Stukent |date=May 2021 |isbn=9780999630242 |pages=Chapter 14, Section 1, Influencer Marketing |language=English}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |last=Jewell |first=Alden |title=1933 Dodge 6 Salon Brougham with Babe Didrikson |date=2013-07-23 |url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/autohistorian/9357363450/ |access-date=2022-04-14}}</ref>
* Zaharias appeared as a guest on the [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] [[reality show]], ''[[The Comeback Story]]'' (1953–1954), explaining her attempts to battle colon cancer, which thereafter still claimed her life.<ref>Marsh, Earle and Brooks, Tim, ''The Complete Directory to Prime-Time Network and Cable Television Shows, 1946–Present'', p. 237</ref>
* In 1952, she appeared as herself in the [[Spencer Tracy]]-[[Katharine Hepburn]] film ''[[Pat and Mike]]''.
* In 1975, [[Susan Clark]] portrayed Zaharias in a biographic TV movie titled ''Babe'', for which Clark won an [[Emmy Award]]). [[Alex Karras]] played George Zaharias. Clark and Karras met while making the picture and later married.<ref name="FAQ" />
* The 1987 science fiction novel ''Countersolar!'' by [[Richard A. Lupoff]] featured Zaharias as a character serving as part of an interplanetary expedition alongside [[Josh Gibson]] and [[Albert Einstein]] on a spacecraft built by [[Jack Northrop]].
* In Jenifer Levin's 1993 novel ''The Sea of Light'', main character Mildred "Babe" Delgado is named after Zaharias by her mother Barbara, who considered Zaharias to be "my only hero".
* In 2006, Zaharias was featured in a Season 10 episode of [[Arthur (TV series)|''Arthur'']].
* In 2007, Carolyn Gage began work on ''Babe'', a full-chorus, full-orchestra musical about Zaharias.<ref name="Gage">{{cite web |title=Lesbians Take to the Stage |publisher=LOGOonline.com |first=Heather |last=Aimee |date=January 26, 2007 |url=http://www.logoonline.com/news/story.jhtml?id=1550884&disableFeatureRedirect=true&contentTypeID=1300 |access-date=April 22, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927004540/http://www.logoonline.com/news/story.jhtml?id=1550884&disableFeatureRedirect=true&contentTypeID=1300 |archive-date=September 27, 2007}}</ref>
* In June 2011, [[Little, Brown]] published a major biography of Zaharias, ''Wonder Girl'', by author [[Don Van Natta Jr.]]<ref name=NPRBooks/><ref name="Van Natta">{{cite news |title=Book to be focus on legend Zaharias' life, achievements |newspaper=Tampa Bay Times |first=Keith |last=Niebuhr |date=June 26, 2007 |url=http://www.sptimes.com/2007/06/26/Sports/Book_to_focus_on_lege.shtml |access-date=October 13, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080118125551/http://www.sptimes.com/2007/06/26/Sports/Book_to_focus_on_lege.shtml |archive-date=January 18, 2008}}</ref>
* ''[[Family Guy]]'' has made numerous references to Babe Zaharias being one of the greatest Americans to have lived.
* In season 21 of ''[[The Simpsons]]'', Marge dresses up as Zaharias for her Charity Chicks calendar with a history theme. Marge also refers to her as the female [[Tiger Woods]] of the 20th century.
* On August 26, 2014, her story was portrayed in a "Sport Heroes" episode of the [[Comedy Central]] series ''[[Drunk History]]''; Didrikson Zaharias was played by [[Emily Deschanel]].
* She is the sole character in the 2020 opera ''Par for the Course'', written by composer Lisa Neher and librettist Kendra Preston Leonard. The opera depicts Zaharias's reaction to learning that she will not be allowed to play in the US Open.<ref>{{cite web | title=NOW Pop-Up Festival 2022 | website=New Opera West | date=February 6, 2022 | url=https://www.newoperawest.org/now-popup-festival-2022 | access-date=April 29, 2024}}</ref>

==Amateur wins==
''Note: This list is incomplete.''
*1935 Texas Women's Amateur
*1946 [[U.S. Women's Amateur]], Women's Trans-Mississippi Amateur{{citation needed|date=October 2022}}
*1947 [[North and South Women's Amateur]], [[British Ladies Amateur]]{{citation needed|date=October 2022}}

==Professional wins==

===LPGA Tour wins (41)===
*1940 (1) '''[[Women's Western Open]]''' (as an amateur)
*1944 (1) '''[[Women's Western Open]]''' (as an amateur)
*1945 (1) '''[[Women's Western Open]]''' (as an amateur)
*1947 (2) [[Tampa Women's Open|Tampa Open]], '''[[Titleholders Championship]]''' (as an amateur)
*1948 (3) [[All American Open (LPGA Tour)|All American Open]], [[World Championship (LPGA Tour)|World Championship]], '''[[U.S. Women's Open]]'''
*1949 (2) [[World Championship (LPGA Tour)|World Championship]], [[Eastern Women's Open|Eastern Open]]
*[[1950 LPGA Tour|1950]] (8) '''[[Titleholders Championship]]''', [[Pebble Beach Weathervane]], [[Cleveland Weathervane]], [[144 Hole Weathervane]], '''[[Women's Western Open]]''', [[All American Open (LPGA Tour)|All American Open]], [[World Championship (LPGA Tour)|World Championship]], '''[[U.S. Women's Open]]'''
*[[1951 LPGA Tour|1951]] (9) [[Ponte Verde Beach Women's Open]], [[Tampa Women's Open]], [[Lakewood Weathervane]], [[Richmond Women's Open]], [[Fresno Open (LPGA Tour)|Valley Open]], [[Meridian Hills Weathervane]], [[All American Open (LPGA Tour)|All American Open]], [[World Championship (LPGA Tour)|World Championship]], [[Women's Texas Open]]
*[[1952 LPGA Tour|1952]] (5) [[Miami Weathervane]], '''[[Titleholders Championship]]''', [[Bakersfield Open (LPGA Tour)|Bakersfield Open]] (tied with [[Marlene Hagge]], [[Betty Jameson]] and [[Betsy Rawls]]), [[Fresno Open (LPGA Tour)|Fresno Open]], [[Women's Texas Open]]
*[[1953 LPGA Tour|1953]] (2) [[Sarasota Open (LPGA Tour)|Sarasota Open]], [[Babe Zaharias Open]]
*[[1954 LPGA Tour|1954]] (5) [[Serbin Open]], [[Sarasota Open (LPGA Tour)|Sarasota Open]], [[Damon Runyon Cancer Fund Tournament]], '''[[U.S. Women's Open]]''', [[All American Open (LPGA Tour)|All American Open]]
*[[1955 LPGA Tour|1955]] (2) [[Tampa Women's Open|Tampa Open]], [[Peach Blossom Open]]

LPGA [[Women's major golf championships|Majors]] are shown in '''bold.'''

===Other wins===
*1940 [[Women's Texas Open]]
*1945 [[Women's Texas Open]]
*1946 [[All American Open (LPGA Tour)|All American Open]], [[Women's Texas Open]]
*1947 [[Hardscrabble Open]]
*1951 Orlando Florida 2-Ball (with [[George Bolesta]])
*1952 Orlando Mixed (with [[Al Besselink]])

==Major championships==

===Wins (10)===
{|class="sortable wikitable"
!Year!!Championship!!Winning score!!Margin!!Runner-up
|-style="background:#FFCC99;"
| align=center|[[1940 Women's Western Open|1940]] ||[[Women's Western Open]] ||colspan=2 align=center|5 & 4||{{flagicon|USA}} [[Mrs. Russell Mann]]
|-style="background:#FFCC99;"
| align=center|[[1944 Women's Western Open|1944]] ||[[Women's Western Open]] ||colspan=2 align=center|7 & 5||{{flagicon|USA}} [[Dorothy Germain]] (a)
|-style="background:#FFCC99;"
| align=center|[[1945 Women's Western Open|1945]] ||[[Women's Western Open]] ||colspan=2 align=center|4 & 2||{{flagicon|USA}} Dorothy Germain (a)
|-style="background:#FFFF99;"
| align=center|[[1947 Titleholders Championship|1947]] ||[[Titleholders Championship]] ||+4 (78–81–71–74=304)||5 strokes ||{{flagicon|USA}} [[Dorothy Kirby]] (a)
|-style="background:#FBCEB1;"
| align=center|[[1948 U.S. Women's Open|1948]] ||[[U.S. Women's Open]] ||E (75–72–75–78=300)||8 strokes||{{flagicon|USA}} [[Betty Hicks]]
|-style="background:#FFFF99;"
| align=center|[[1950 Titleholders Championship|1950]] ||[[Titleholders Championship]] ||+10 (72–78–73–75=298)||8 strokes||{{flagicon|USA}} [[Claire Doran]] (a)
|-style="background:#FFCC99;"
| align=center|[[1950 Women's Western Open|1950]] ||[[Women's Western Open]] ||colspan=2 align=center|5 & 3||{{flagicon|USA}} [[Peggy Kirk]]
|-style="background:#FBCEB1;"
| align=center|[[1950 U.S. Women's Open|1950]] ||[[U.S. Women's Open]] ||−9 (75–76–70–70=291)||9 strokes||{{flagicon|USA}} [[Betsy Rawls]] (a)
|-style="background:#FFFF99;"
| align=center|[[1952 Titleholders Championship|1952]] ||[[Titleholders Championship]] ||+11 (74–73–73–79=299)||7 strokes ||{{flagicon|USA}} Betsy Rawls
|-style="background:#FBCEB1;"
| align=center|[[1954 U.S. Women's Open|1954]] ||[[U.S. Women's Open]] ||+3 (72–71–73–75=291)||12 strokes||{{flagicon|USA}} Betty Hicks
|}

==See also==
*[[List of golfers with most LPGA Tour wins]]
*[[List of golfers with most LPGA major championship wins]]
*[[Annika Sörenstam]]
*[[Suzy Whaley]]
*[[Michelle Wie]]
*[[Brittany Lincicome]]

==References==
{{Reflist|refs=
<ref name="Ikard33">{{Cite book |last=Ikard |first=Robert W. |year=2005 |title=Just for Fun: The Story of AAU Women's Basketball |publisher=The University of Arkansas Press |isbn=978-1557288899 |page=33}}</ref>
}}

==Bibliography==
*{{cite book |title=Babe: The Life and Legend of Babe Didrikson Zaharias |last=Cayleff |first=Susan E. |publisher=University of Illinois Press |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-252-06593-4}}
*{{cite book |title='Why Michael Couldn't Hit and Other Tales of the Neurology of Sports |last=Klawans |first=Harold L. |author-link=Harold L. Klawans |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-7167-3001-9 |publisher=W.H. Freeman & Company |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/whymichaelcouldn00klaw}}
*{{cite book |title=Wonder Girl: The Magnificent Sporting Life of Babe Didrikson Zaharias |last=Van Natta |first=Don Jr. |publisher=Little, Brown and Company |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-316-05699-1 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/wondergirlmagnif0000vann}}
*{{cite book |title=This Life I've Led: My Autobiography |url=https://archive.org/details/thislifeiveledmy00zaha |url-access=registration |last=Zaharias |first=Babe Didrikson |publisher=New York A.S Barns & Co |year=1955 |asin=B0018EAHXW}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Babe Didrikson Zaharias}}
* {{LPGA player|babe-zaharias/82800|Babe Zaharias}}
* {{USATF Hall of Fame|43|Mildred (Babe) Didriksen}}
* {{Team USA Hall of Fame|new_id=babe-didrikson|name=Babe Didrikson|old_id=Babe-Didrikson|archive=20230720073216}}
* {{Olympics.com|mildred-didrikson|Mildred Didrikson}}
* {{Olympedia|77808|Babe Didrikson}}
* [https://www.loc.gov/pictures/search/?q=babe%20didrikson&sg=true Babe Didrikson photos] held by the [[Library of Congress]]
* ''[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072677/ Babe]'', a 1975 [[Television movie|TV movie]] biography, at [[The Internet Movie Database]]
* {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070520193522/http://golf.about.com/od/golferswomen/p/babe_zaharias.htm |title=Babe Didrikson Zaharias at golf.about.com |date=May 20, 2007 }}
* [https://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/26/sports/golf/babe-didrikson-zahariass-legacy-fades.html?scp=1&sq=babe%20didrikson&st=cse "Babe Didrikson Zaharias's Legacy Fades"], ''The New York Times'', June 25, 2011
* [http://www.babedidriksonzaharias.org/ Babe Didrikson Zaharias] – Note: Although this is the official site of the Babe Didrikson Zaharias Foundation, this site once contained a number of notable factual errors that have since been corrected. For example, it stated that she won all of the events she entered at the 1932 Olympic games when in fact she won two of the three. It stated that she graduated from high school; she did not. And it stated that she did not smoke, which is also not true.
* Michals, Debra. [https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/mildred-zaharias "Mildred 'Babe' Zaharias"]. National Women's History Museum. 2015.

{{Navboxes
|title=Babe Zaharias in the [[Olympic Games]]
|list=
{{Footer Olympic Champions 100 m hurdles Women}}
{{Footer Olympic Champions Javelin Throw Women}}
{{Footer US NC 100m hurdles Women}}
{{Footer US NC High Jump Women}}
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{{Footer US NC Javelin Women}}
{{Footer US NC baseball throw Women}}
{{Footer USA Track & Field 1932 Summer Olympics}}
}}
{{Navboxes
|title=Babe Zaharias in the [[Women's major golf championships|major championships]]
|list=
{{U.S. Women's Open Champions}}
{{Titleholders Champions}}
{{Women's Western Open Champions}}
}}
{{IAAF Hall of Fame}}
{{Colorado Women's Hall of Fame}}
{{National Women's Hall of Fame}}
{{Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year navbox}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zaharias, Babe Didrikson}}
[[Category:1911 births]]
[[Category:1956 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century American LGBTQ people]]
[[Category:20th-century American non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:20th-century American women writers]]
[[Category:American autobiographers]]
[[Category:American bisexual sportspeople]]
[[Category:American bisexual women]]
[[Category:American bisexual writers]]
[[Category:American women baseball players]]
[[Category:American female golfers]]
[[Category:American female high jumpers]]
[[Category:American female hurdlers]]
[[Category:American female javelin throwers]]
[[Category:American LGBTQ sportswomen]]
[[Category:American people of Norwegian descent]]
[[Category:American women's basketball players]]
[[Category:American women autobiographers]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1932 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Baseball players from Dallas]]
[[Category:Baseball players from Tampa, Florida]]
[[Category:Basketball players from Dallas]]
[[Category:Basketball players from Tampa, Florida]]
[[Category:Bisexual sportswomen]]
[[Category:Deaths from colorectal cancer in Texas]]
[[Category:Golfers from Dallas]]
[[Category:Golfers from Tampa, Florida]]
[[Category:LGBTQ baseball players]]
[[Category:LGBTQ basketball players]]
[[Category:LGBTQ golfers]]
[[Category:LGBTQ people from Texas]]
[[Category:LGBTQ track and field athletes]]
[[Category:LPGA Tour golfers]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1932 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Olympic gold medalists for the United States in track and field]]
[[Category:Olympic silver medalists for the United States in track and field]]
[[Category:Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Beaumont, Texas]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Port Arthur, Texas]]
[[Category:Track and field athletes from Dallas]]
[[Category:Track and field athletes from Florida]]
[[Category:Winners of ladies' major amateur golf championships]]
[[Category:Winners of LPGA major golf championships]]
[[Category:World Golf Hall of Fame inductees]]
[[Category:World record setters in athletics (track and field)]]

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