Babe Zaharias - JuniorLinks

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Barnstorming Bab Babe and Babe – Babe Ruth and Babe Didrikson Zaharias enjoy a friendly visit. Babe liked to say she was named for baseball great, Babe Ruth. But, it was actually a nickname her mother gave her when she was a baby. “S ometimes in those early barnstorming days I wasn’t sure if people were laughing with me or at me.” 1 Babe remained true to her dream to play sports no matter what. This takes perseverance–constantly moving toward a goal in spite of setbacks. Look through the newspaper for articles about research in science or medicine. Identify the challenges scientists are persevering to overcome. Use the Internet or current encyclopedias to locate background information on the challenge you have identified tracing its history and progress to date. Present an oral or written report of findings for the class. P E R S E V E R A N C E Babe returned from the Olympics to a heroine’s welcome in her home state. Thousands of fans lined the streets in Dallas and Beaumont to catch a glimpse of their most famous citizen. Adding to her glory, the Associated Press selected Babe Didrikson as the outstanding Woman Athlete of the Year for 1932. What to do next Babe wanted to continue competing as an amateur to make and break records, but she still needed to earn a living to help her family. She returned to her job at Employer’s Casualty, received a raise in pay, bought a shiny new Dodge and continued playing for the company basketball team. When the Dodge dealer used Babe’s picture in an advertisement without her permission, the Amateur Athlete Union disqualified her from competition. By the time the AAU agreed to let her play again, Babe had made up her mind to turn professional. Babe Hits the Road Babe crisscrossed the country entertaining delighted fans. Her appearances included playing billiards, pitching in springtraining games for the major leagues, hitting plastic golf balls into an audience and running a treadmill on the Vaudeville stage. “I was wearing a red-white-and Taken in 1933, Babe poses for publicity shots as a boxer and a hockey player. The hockey team pictured with her is the New York Rangers. blue jacket and shorts of silk satin. I’d put on rubber-soled track shoes and give a demonstration of hurdling and high jumping and running. I wound up by playing the harmonica.” 2 Babe was earning high fees for her displays of talent but was unhappy being inside theaters and hotel rooms. “I don’t want the money if I have to make it this way. I want to live my life outdoors,” she decided. 1 True to form, Babe cancelled the rest of her performances and returned to her goal of playing sports for a living. Babe on harmonica! Babe Didrikson’s All-Americans Unfortunately, there weren’t many opportunities for female athletes to earn a living from sports in the 1930s. To complicate What is Barnstorming In the days before television, “barnstorming” was a form of entertainment for folks living in small country towns. To “barnstorm” means to travel through rural areas of the country giving performances, exhibition contests, or the like. The entertainment we find nowadays in movies, television, and video games is similar to the entertainment of barnstorming in the early 20th century. 10 Character of a Champion: Babe Didrikson Zaharias
“Speed—unyielding strength—enduring stamina—that’s the stuff that makes real champions, whether they’re in the athletic arena or in the world of automobiles.” – Dodge Advertisement matters, Babe’s father became ill and her family needed her earnings more than ever. In the fall of 1933, Babe decided to join an exhibition team organized by sports promoter Ray Doan and tour the country with a barnstorming basketball team. “Babe Didrikson’s All Americans” was a squad that included both male and female athletes who toured back roads and small towns playing local basketball teams. In five months they played ninety-one games and won three-fourths of them. Because One Summer– 200 Cities In the summer of 1934, Babe played 200 baseball games as she barnstormed with an all-male team called the House of David. Babe was their star pitcher. Use the clues to find the names of 5 places Babe played baseball with the House of David team. of her widespread fame, Babe attracted enormous crowds. Although she was the star, Babe remained a team player. One former teammate recalled, “She was very considerate and insisted whenever she was invited out that the team received an invitation too.” 1 Babe earned about $1,000 a month, sending most of her earnings to her family back home. This was quite an impressive amount of money during the dark days of the Depression when factory workers were taking home less than $50.00 a month! Babe’s earnings from her barnstorming days supported her family, and she was generous with the money left over. She bought a new car for her father, had a new stove and refrigerator installed for her mother’s birthday in their family’s kitchen, and paid for her sister Lillie’s wedding. Babe also paid to remodel entirely the Didrikson home. You could truly say her perseverance paid off! On Par for Greatness: Babe’s accomplishments at this point in her life. • Associated Press names Babe Outstanding Woman Athlete of the Year. •Babe makes her first professional basketball appearance scoring 9 points for the Brooklyn Yankees in a 19-16 win over the Long Island Ducklings CLUE 1: Find Fort Lauderdale, FL on the map. Move one square to the west. Next move 9 squares north. Then move 2 squares to the east. Write the name of the city in that box on the line below: _______________________ CLUE 2: Start in the square where the city you found in Clue 1 is located. Move 3 squares west. Next move one square south. Which city is located in that square CLUE 3: Start in the square where the city you found in Clue 2 is located. Move 2 squares south. Next move 2 squares west. Then move 2 squares north. Which city is located in that square CLUE 4: Start in the square where the city you found in Clue 3 is located. Move 2 squares west. Next move 1 square north. Which city is located in that square CLUE 5: Start in the square where the city you found in Clue 4 is located. Move 7 squares west. Next move 2 squares north. Then move one square west. ___________________________ ____________________________ ____________________________ ___________________________ ANS: Clue 1: Sarasota Springs, NY; Clue 2: Detroit, MI; Clue 3: Chicago, IL; Clue 4: Minneapolis, MN; Clue 5: Coeur d’Alene, ID Character of a Champion: Babe Didrikson Zaharias 11
Page 1 and 2: INSIDE: One Woman Team Barnstorming
Page 3 and 4: “MILDRED ‘BABE’ DIDRIKSON —
Page 5 and 6: “How would you like to play on a
Page 7 and 8: “The most flawless section of mus
Page 9: Comic Book Hero As Babe’s amazing
Page 13 and 14: “She must be Superman’s sister.
Page 15 and 16: “It is not only the annals of spo

Babe Zaharias - JuniorLinks

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