Babe Zaharias Immortalized With Historic Marker At Tampa Golf Course

TAMPA, FL — The Hillsborough County Historical Advisory Council in partnership with the Forest Hills Neighborhood Association and the Tampa Sports Authority unveiled the Babe Zaharias historical marker at the Babe Zaharias Golf Course, 11412 N Forest Hills Drive, Tampa.

Mildred "Babe" Didrikson Zaharias (1911-1956) was considered the best athlete in her time, excelling in a variety of sports. She was a two-time member of the amateur Women's All-American basketball team. In the 1932 Olympics, she set the world record in the javelin, won a gold medal in the 80-meter hurdles and took silver medal in the high jump (she was penalized for her technique).

She started playing serious golf three years later at the age of 22.

Zaharias won 17 straight amateur tournaments, including the 1946 U. S .Women's Amateur All-American Open, and three world championships from 1949-1951. She was a three-time winner of the Women's Western Open and, in 1947, she became the first American to win the British Women's Open. She set a 72-hole record in the 1951 Tampa Open.

Zaharias and Patty Berg cofounded the LPGA in 1949 and she was inducted into the LPGA Hall of Fame in 1951. She was named Outstanding Woman Athlete of the Year from 1949 to 1954 by the Associated Press.