This Life I've Led

Before Serena Williams, Mia Hamm, Billie Jean King, and Jackie Joyner-Kersee, there was Babe Didrikson Zaharias. This autobiography tells the story of one of the greatest female athletes of all time who inspired a generation of women and girls. Born in Port Arthur, Texas in 1914 to Norwegian immigrant parents, Mildred Ella Didrikson was a natural at many sports, including basketball, track, and golf. She said that she got her nickname “Babe” (after Babe Ruth) when she started hitting home runs during childhood baseball games. She came to the world’s attention when she won two gold medals and one silver medal for track and field at the 1932 Olympics in Los Angeles. She later went on to become America's first female golf celebrity. In 1938 Babe married professional wrestler George Zaharias, whom she met while playing as the only woman competing in a men's golf tournament.-Smithsonian