Babe Didrikson Zaharias,  Donald Trump

President Trump Awards My Great Aunt Babe Didrikson Zaharias The Presidential Medal of Freedom

Thank you, President Trump!

Babe Zaharias, considered by many to be the greatest female athlete of all-time, is one of three recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Donald Trump.

A representative from the Zaharias Foundation received the award on the late athlete’s behalf in a private event Thursday at the White House.

Zaharias was born in Port Arthur in 1911 and was known for her talents in a variety of sports, including golf. She won ten LPGA major championships, two Olympic gold medals, an Olympic silver medal in track and field, and was an All-American basketball player. She also played baseball and was an expert diver, roller-skater and bowler, according to a biography on the foundation’s website. She was eventually named the Greatest Female Athlete of the 20th century by ESPN, Sports Illustrated and The Associated Press.

Zaharias was diagnosed with colon cancer in 1953 and became one of the first public figures to openly discuss her illness in an attempt to spread awareness about the disease, the foundation said. She died in 1956 at the age of 44 at John Sealy Hospital in Galveston.

KBMT in Beaumont reports Zaharias Foundation president W.L. Pate had campaigned for nearly two years for Zaharias to be given the award posthumously.

Babe Didrikson Zaharias is my Great Aunt = my grandmother’s (Dora) sister.

When the pandemic is over, I look forward to a trip to Beaumont, Texas and help with the restoration of Babe’s Memorial Golf Tournament.