Why do we love Babe? Arguably the greatest female athlete of the twentieth century, Babe excelled in every sport she tried. From her high school basketball days in Texas to the world stage of the Olympic games to the golf links all over the globe, Babe was not only a champion, she was a sportswoman. A year after being diagnosed with inoperable cancer, Babe staged one of the greatest comebacks in golf history, winning her third U.S. Women's Open - by an incredible 12 strokes. Biography: Born - June 26, 1914 Port Arthur, Texas Died - September 27, 1956 Galveston, Texas Achievements: She was voted the World's Greatest Woman Athlete of the first half of the 20th Century in a poll conducted by the Associated Press. She was six times named Woman Athlete of the Year by the Associated Press, 1931, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1950, and 1954. No other athlete in either division, man or woman, achieved this honor so many times. As a golfer, both amateur and professional, she won every major professional championship at least one time and in the case of most of them, more than one time. She became the first American to capture the British Women's Amateur and the first golfer to win both the United States Women's Amateur and the British Women's Amateur. Babe knew little about golf and did not take up the game until after she had gained world fame in track and field and All-American status in basketball. She also had mastered tennis, played organized baseball and softball, and was an expert diver, roller-skater and, bowler. Babe is a founding member of the Ladies' Professional Golf Association (LPGA), member of the Ladies Golf Hall of Fame and Helms Athletic Foundations Golf Hall of Fame. She won 17 amateur golf tournaments in a row, including the British Amateur, the U.S. Amateur and the All-American. She was a three-time All-American basketball player – 1930, 1931, and 1932. In track and field, she either held or tied for the world record in tour events and held the United States – AAU record in four events. In the 1932 Olympics (Los Angeles) she won gold medals in the following events: 80 Meter Hurdles with an Olympic record time of 11.7. A world mark which stood until the next games in 1936. Javelin – Won 1932 Olympics with a throw of 143 feet, 4 inches, an Olympic mark which stood until the 1936 Games. Won the AAU sanctioned United States championship in the event in 1930 with a throw of 133 feet, 6 inches, an AAU-U.S. record. Beat her own record in 1932 at 139 feet, 3 inches. Her original mark in this event was not broken for 25 years. Babe's marks in the javelin were considered world records before 1932. High Jump – Tied for the 1932 Olympics title with an Olympic record jump for 5 feet 5 inches with Jean Shiley. Shiley was given the gold medal and Didrikson was awarded the silver medal (actually it was half-gold and half-silver, the only such medal in Olympics history) when officials ruled Babe out for using the "Western Roll". Later Babe was credited with the Olympic first place tie. The International Amateur Federation sanctioned Didrikson's jump as the world record, which she held jointly with Shiley for six years. The Olympic mark stood for 16 years. The 1932 Olympic jump of Didrikson and Shiley stood as the best effort in the United States for 23 years. In her own words -- On not holding back: "It's not enough just to swing at the ball, you've got to loosen your girdle and really let the ball have it.   March 5   •   March 7 Home