Babe Didrikson Zaharias Museum & Visitor Center
Babe Didrikson Zaharias Museum, Interstate 10, Beaumont, TX
The Babe Didrikson Zaharias Museum offers a glimpse into the life of the greatest female athlete of all time. Born on June 26, 1911 in Port Arthur, Babe displayed prodigious talents in myriad sports. She excelled in: basketball, track, golf, baseball, tennis, swimming, diving, boxing, volleyball, handball, bowling, billiards, skating and cycling.
In 1932, Babe won the national women’s AAU/Olympic tryouts with 30 points as an unattached athlete. That’s a whopping 8 points over the second place Illinois Women’s Athletic Club. This historic win is thought of as the single greatest achievement in a series of events in the history of athletics. The famous sports writer Grantland Price dubbed her “Wonder Girl” after two gold and one silver medal performances in the 1932 Olympics.
Golf Career
Eventually, Babe set her sights solely on golf and went on to be declared as one of the ten best golfers of all time by inaugural AAU Sullivan Award Winner, Bobby Jones. Babe won 82 golf tournaments. She was voted the World’s Greatest Woman Athlete of the First Half of the 20th Century by the Associated Press (AP), and the only athlete to be named Woman Athlete of the Year by the AP six times.
Getting There
Babe Didrikson Zaharias Museum & Visitor Center
Babe Didrikson Zaharias Museum, Interstate 10, Beaumont, TX, USA
