|
                        
|
Unless you live under a rock, you probably know that our golf course is named after Babe Didrikson Zaharias, who according to many, was the greatest all-sport athlete of all time. She was certainly the greatest woman athlete. Babe and her husband, professional wrestler George Zaharias, bought the Forest Hills Golf and Country Club in 1951 and renamed it the Tampa Golf and Country Club. They lived in a converted caddy house until 1955. They sold the golf course in 1954, built a new house across the pond from the clubhouse, and moved into it the following year. Babe died after a gallant fight with cancer on September 26, 1956. After many years of neglect the course was renovated and was reopened in 1974, renamed Babe Zaharias Golf Club. A Little History about BabeMildred Ella Didrikson was born on June 26, 1911 in Port Arthur Texas, the sixth of seven children of poor Norwegian immigrant parents Hannah and Ole Didrikson. (Trivia: Port Arthur is also known for another famous personality, Janis Joplin.) Always the competitive tomboy, Babe excelled in sports from the very beginning. It's all she ever wanted to do. She practiced and pushed herself with what can only be described as an obsession to be, in her own words, "the best athlete that ever lived." She may have succeeded. She became an All-American basketball player, an Olympic gold medalist in track and field, and a championship golfer. Along the way, she mastered tennis (often playing up to eighteen sets per day in training), played organized baseball, and was an outstanding diver, roller skater and bowler. In a time when women weren't exactly welcome in the sports arena, she really broke some ground, and she did it with quite a flourish. Although she wasn't always liked by her competitors, the press and public loved her, and she loved them. She was a ham who had fun with the galleries, often joking and making trick shots. She respected reporters and tried to give them as much time as possible. She never shunned publicity, in fact, she craved it. Her most notable accomplishments include: Single-handedly winning the AAU (Amateur Athletic Union) meet in 1932. All the other teams had several competitors, but Babe was the only person representing her team. She competed in eight events and lost only two. At this one competition she set AAU and US records for shot put; set world records for the baseball throw and javelin; tied for an AAU record high-jump; won 80-meter hurdles; won the broad jump; placed 4th in discus; and she barely missed qualifying for the 100-meter dash. At the Los Angeles Olympics that same year she won a gold medal in 80-meter hurdles, setting world and Olympic records; won a gold medal in javelin, again setting world and Olympic records; and won a gold/silver (disputed because of her technique) high jump. When she decided to "take up golf" she applied herself with the same fierce dedication she had to her other endeavors, often practicing her swing from morning into the night, with her hands bleeding. She was determined to be the best. Babe won 82 golf tournaments in 18 years, including thirteen consecutive tournaments. During her years as an athlete, Babe was voted Female Athlete of the Year six times, Associated Press Woman of the Year, and Associated Press Female Athlete of the Half Century. She was the first American golfer to win the British Women's Amateur championship. She co-founded the LPGA (Ladies' Professional Golf Association) and served as it's president for several years. She was later inducted into the LPGA Hall of Fame. Posthumous honors include: 1956 Greatest Woman Athlete in History by Sports Broadcaster Association. 1974 Track and Field Hall of Fame 1974 Tampa Golf & Country Club renamed Babe Zaharias Golf Club. 1975 Babe Didrikson Memorial Museum opened in Beaumont, Texas 1977 Professional Golf Association Hall of Fame 1981 Commemorative Postage Stamp Issued 1988 Player of the Decade, 1938-1947, on the Centennial of Golf in America 1990 Babe Zaharias Female Amateur Athlete Award honors top female athletes. 1999 Named Sports Illustrated's Woman Athlete of the Century. 1999 Named the Associated Press Woman Athlete of the Century. 1999-2000 Babe is the only woman listed in the top ten of ESPN's "Sports Century: The Twentieth Century's 50 Greatest Athletes"
I think she got what she wanted.
Sources (available at the Tampa Public Library): "This Life I've Led, My Autobiography" by Babe Zaharias, 1955 (She dictated this book mostly while convalescing at her new home here in Forest Hills shortly before she died.) "Babe Didrikson, The Greatest All-Sport Athlete of All Time" by Susan E. Cayleff "Babe Didrikson Zaharias, The Making of a Champion" by Russell Freedman
|
|
|
|
Our
Forest Hills.Info 
