Athlete. Born Mildred Ella Didrickson in Port Arthur, Texas, she achieved outstanding success in golf, basketball, and track and field. By 1931, she gained world status in leading her team, the Golden Cyclones, to an AAU Basketball Championship. As an All-American, she won two gold and one silver medal for track and field in the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics. In 1935, she began to play golf, the sport for which she would become the most famous. She went on to become America's first female golf celebrity and the leading player of the 1940s and early 1950s. She won 17 straight women's amateur victories and, as a professional, won a total of 82 golf tournaments. Her victories included the 1947 Titleholders Championship, 1947 Women's Western Open, the U.S. Women's Open Champion in 1950 and 1952, and the 1950 Grand Slam Championship. She was named the 10th Greatest North American Athlete of the 20th Century by ESPN, and the 9th Greatest Athlete of the 20th Century by the Associated Press. She is a member of the Hall of Fame of Women's Golf, World Golf Hall of Fame, and LPGA Hall of Fame. She died of cancer at age 45 in Galveston, Texas.
Athlete. Born Mildred Ella Didrickson in Port Arthur, Texas, she achieved outstanding success in golf, basketball, and track and field. By 1931, she gained world status in leading her team, the Golden Cyclones, to an AAU Basketball Championship. As an All-American, she won two gold and one silver medal for track and field in the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics. In 1935, she began to play golf, the sport for which she would become the most famous. She went on to become America's first female golf celebrity and the leading player of the 1940s and early 1950s. She won 17 straight women's amateur victories and, as a professional, won a total of 82 golf tournaments. Her victories included the 1947 Titleholders Championship, 1947 Women's Western Open, the U.S. Women's Open Champion in 1950 and 1952, and the 1950 Grand Slam Championship. She was named the 10th Greatest North American Athlete of the 20th Century by ESPN, and the 9th Greatest Athlete of the 20th Century by the Associated Press. She is a member of the Hall of Fame of Women's Golf, World Golf Hall of Fame, and LPGA Hall of Fame. She died of cancer at age 45 in Galveston, Texas.
Bio by: John "J-Cat" Griffith
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