Object Details
Artist
Harry Warnecke, 1900 - 1984
Robert F. Cranston, 26 Jul 1897 - 1978
Gus Schoenbaechler, active 1940s–1950s
Sitter
Mildred Didrikson Zaharias, 26 Jun 1911 - 28 Sep 1956
Exhibition Label
Born Port Arthur, Texas
Perhaps no athlete has excelled at more sports than did Babe Didrikson. She caught the public’s attention when she won two gold medals during the 1932 Summer Olympic Games—in the javelin throw and eighty-meter hurdles. She then became a professional athlete, competing in basketball, baseball, swimming, lacrosse, soccer, handball, fencing, cycling, and ice skating. During this period, she famously declared, “The Babe is here. Who’s coming in second?”
Didrikson started playing golf in 1933, and in 1947 she became the only American woman to win the British amateur crown. In 1948, she helped to organize the Ladies Professional Golf Association. In professional women’s golf, she won eighty-two tournaments, including fourteen in a row. Named Woman Athlete of the Year six times by the Associated Press, Didrikson was a pioneer in women’s sports. She remains one of the United States’ greatest all-around athletes.
Credit Line
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
Date
August 13, 1947
Object number
NPG.97.211
Restrictions & Rights
CC0
Type
Photograph
Medium
Carbro print
Dimensions
Image: 41.4 × 31.4 cm (16 5/16 × 12 3/8")
Sheet: 46.2 × 36.1 cm (18 3/16 × 14 3/16")
Mat: 71.1 × 55.9 cm (28 × 22")
See more items in
National Portrait Gallery Collection
Location
Currently not on view
Data Source
National Portrait Gallery
Topic
Exterior
Nature & Environment\Plant\Tree
Nature & Environment\Plant\Grass
Costume\Hair Accessory\Barrette
Equipment\Sports Equipment\Golf Club
Mildred Didrikson Zaharias: Female
Mildred Didrikson Zaharias: Sports\Athlete
Mildred Didrikson Zaharias: Sports\Athlete\Golfer
Mildred Didrikson Zaharias: Athletics awards\Olympic medal
Portrait
Link to Original Record
Record ID
npg_NPG.97.211