Babe Didrikson Zaharias was named "Woman Athlete of the Half-Century" in 1950 for her skills in basketball, track & field, and golf. Didrikson Zaharias was born June 26, 1911, and earned her nickname "Babe" by hitting five home runs in one childhood baseball game. At the 1932 Olympics, she won medals in the hurdles, javelin throw, and high jump. By the 1940s, she was the greatest woman golfer of all time. The Associated Press declared Babe Zaharias to be the "Woman Athlete of the Half-Century" in 1950. Athlete and Olympic champion Babe Didrikson Zaharias was born Mildred Ella Didrikson on June 26, 1911, in Port Arthur, Texas, the daughter of Ole Didrikson and Hannah Marie Olsen. Her father and mother were from Norway, where her mother had been an outstanding skier and skater. Her father was a ship's carpenter and cabinetmaker. The family, who spelled their name Didriksen, moved to Beaumont, Texas, when Mildred was 3. Times were often difficult for the large Didrikson family, and as an adolescent, Mildred worked at many part-time jobs, including sewing gunny sacks at a penny a sack. Her father, a firm believer in physical conditioning, built a weight-lifting apparatus out of a broomstick and some old flatirons. Mildred, called "Baby" in her early years, was always competitive, interested in sports, and eager to playboys' games with her brothers. After hitting five home runs in one baseball game, "Baby" became "Babe" (Babe Ruth was then in his heyday), a nickname that remained with her for the rest of her life.

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