THE BABE

 Everyone has heard of 'The Babe'.   George Herman Ruth - prolific Major League homerun hitter of the early part of the 20th century.  

Well, that's not who I'm talking about.  This 'Babe' may be the greatest athlete of the whole 20th century.  Her name is Mildred Ella Didrikson Zaharias.  Surely, the greatest female athlete of the century.  Yes, everyone called her by her nickname:  "Babe".  

Babe Zaharias was a slightly-built 5'7" Texan born in 1911.  Her short athletic bio is this:  she won two gold and one silver medal in the 1932 Olympic Games competing in track and field.  While in college, she was considered an all-American basketball player and, later, continued to play in the AAU league.  

After college and the Olympics there was little a female athlete could do either on the amateur or professional level.  Babe played local organized baseball and softball; became an expert diver and dabbled in bowling.   

Babe took up golf and became a professional in 1947.  She garnered over 80 wins in her career; 41 wins on the LPGA tour (which she helped found) including 10 wins in 'Major' tournaments.  Six times she was named the Female Athlete of the Year by the Associated Press.   In 2021, she was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

One of her golf championships (her last) is most notable.  Babe contracted colon cancer in 1954 but played in the US Open LPGA championship just 14 months after colon surgery.  Out she went with a colostomy bag in use under her golf garment and won that tourney by an amazing 12 strokes.  Babe died two years later at the age of 45.  

She should be an inspiration to every female athlete.