Bo has nothing on Babe Didrikson!

| Fabulosa

babe-didrikson-trophy

We’ve all heard that “Bo knows…” Well, Babe Didrikson puts Bo Jackson to shame as the greatest all-round female athlete of all time. She was a champion in basketball, baseball, track and field, and golf. In addition, she was a skilled bowler, roller skater, tennis master, and expert diver. Could Bo do all that? It’s doubtful.

Babe Didrikson never considered herself to be a feminist and did not speak out against sexism in larger social contexts. But, she demanded that she be recognized for her athletic skill and not her sex. Her strong personality often unfairly labeled her as “masculine” and “lacking femininity.” Despite these unfair labels, she continued to thrive and become a paragon of athletic skill.

In track and field, Babe broke three Olympic records (Yes. THREE!) in one afternoon. In addition, she won 2 gold medals and one silver. The silver was given because the judges claimed her unique jumping style did not meet the criteria yet it had never been mentioned until the final competition. It sounds fishy to me. In golf, she dominated the field for several decades and is still considered one for the greatest female golfers of all time. Not only did she with the Grand Slam twice in a row, but she also won every female title in one year which is a feat that has never been defeated. Her record goes on and on (see below).

Who wouldn’t be inspired by a woman that essentially dominated so many sports at a time when women were being labeled as too delicate to participate? She is truly an inspiration.

If you’d like to read more about Babe Didrikson, I recommend Babe Didrikson Zaharias: The Making of a Champion by Russell Freedman.

Babe Didrikson Zaharias: The Making of a Champion
Babe Didrikson Zaharias: The Making of a Champion

The list that follows is courtesy of http://www.babedidriksonzaharias.org.

Basketball

  • All-American– with the Employer’s Casualty Company (ECC) 1930, 1931, & 1932

Track and Field

  • 80 METER HURDLES
    • 1931 American Athletic Union (AAU) record of 12 sec, not broken for 18 years. 1932 Olympic/world record of 11.7 sec until the 1936 games.
  • JAVELIN
    • 1932 AAU record 139’3” and Olympic record throw of 143’4”, which stood until the 1936 games.
  • HIGH JUMP
    • 1932 Olympic/world record 5’5¼” held with Shiley for 6 years worldwide, 16 years as an Olympic record, and 23 years as a U.S. record.
  • LONG JUMP
    • 1930 unofficial world record of 18’8” because in the same AAU meet, Stella Walsh jumped ½” farther.
  • BASEBALL THROW
    • 1931 AAU/world record of 296’ still stands today, since the event was discontinued in 1957.

Golf

  • First American to win the British Women’s Amateur
  • First woman to win both the British and U.S. Women’s Amateur (1947)
  • First woman to win the Western Women’s Open three times (as an amateur and professional)
  • Only woman to qualify (so far)  for the Los Angeles Open, a men’s tournament (1938)
  • Won 82 golf tournaments, including amateur and professional
  • The leading money-winner on the tour for four years in a row – 1948 through 1951
  • Won the Grand Slam in 1948 (All-American Open, World Championship and the U.S. Women’s Open)
  • Won the Grand Slam, the Titleholders, 144-hole Weathervane AND Women’s Western Open in 1950, which is a feat that has never been beaten
  • Won the All-American Open, World Championship, Ponte Vedra Open, Tampa Open, Fresno Open, and Texas Open-1951
  • Won the World Championship 3 times in order to keep the “Dead Head” Trophy, but actually won it four times in 1948, 1949, 1950, and 1951
  • One of two players (Louise Suggs) to win both the U.S. Women’s Amateur and U.S. Women’s Open
  • Won the Women’s Open-Salem  in 1954 by 12 strokes, which is the biggest victory margin and has been tied but never broken
  • Won the Vare Trophy in 1954 with a 75.48 average

Babe claimed to win 17 tournaments in a row

She actually won these 3 in 1946: 

  1. Trans-Mississippi-Denver, beat Polly Riley in finals, 6 & 5.
  2. Broadmoor Invitational-Colorado Springs, beat Dot Kielty 6 & 4.
  3. All-American Championship at Tam O’Shanter, 310 (medal play).

 She had one loss, then her 14 amateur victories in a row from 1946-47 are: 

  1. U.S. Women’s Amateur-Tulsa, beat Clara Callender Sherman 11 & 9 for the biggest margin in the history of the tournament.
  2. Texas Women’s Open, beat Betty Hicks 5 & 3.
  3. Tampa Women’s Open, won by five strokes.
  4. Helen Lee Doherty Women’s Amateur-Miami, beat Margaret Gunther 12 & 10. Qualified eight below women’s par with 68 and four under men’s par.  Babe was only one stroke off the men’s record for the course.
  5. Florida Mixed Two-Ball, Partnership with Gerald Walker, won on 31st hole.
  6. Palm Beach Women’s Amateur, beat Jean Hopkins, 1 up.
  7. Women’s International Four-Ball-Hollywood, FL, with Peggy Kirk, beat Louis Suggs and Jean Hopkins in 18 hole playoff, 4 & 2.
  8. South Atlantic Women’s Championship-Ormond Beach, FL beat Peggy Kirk 5 & 4.
  9. Florida East Coast Women’s Championship-San Augustine, beat Mary Agnes Wall 2 & 1.
  10. Women’s Titleholder-Augusta,  overcame 10 stroke lead by Dorothy Kirby to win with 304, by five strokes.
  11. North and South Women’s Amateur- Pinehurst, beat Louise Suggs on 2nd extra hole.
  12. National Celebrities in Washington, DC
  13. British Women’s Amateur-Gullane, Scotland, beat Jacqueline Gordon.
  14. Broadmoor Match Play, beat Dot Kielty 10 & 9.

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