DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about this place — and friends, this one deserves every word. We're standing at the birthplace of one of the most remarkable athletes this world has ever seen. A frame house, right here, in Jefferson County, Texas.
That's where it started. Mildred Ella Didrikson came into this world on June 26, 1911, one of seven children born to Norwegian immigrants Hannah Marie and Ole Didrikson. Ole and Hannah believed in something — they encouraged all their children to develop their natural athletic abilities.
Now, whether that was foresight or just good parenting, the marker doesn't say. But you can decide for yourself how that turned out. The family called little Mildred "Baby." Later, the world would call her "Babe" — a nickname that came from baseball's own Babe Ruth.
They didn't know yet what they were naming. Not fully. For the first several years of her life, the Didriksons occupied that frame house right here.
Eventually, the family moved to Beaumont. And from Beaumont, Babe began to show the world exactly what she could do. First it was basketball.
High school basketball, and she was already a star. Then came track and field. And if you're keeping track of where this is heading — well, hold on.
The 1932 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. Babe Didrikson walked away from those Games with two gold medals. Two.
But here's the thing about Babe — she wasn't just a track-and-field athlete. Baseball. Bowling.
Tennis. She excelled across sports that most people spend a lifetime mastering just one of. Exceptionally versatile is what the marker says.
That feels like an understatement dressed in a suit. Eventually, she concentrated her efforts on golf. And she won.
She won tournaments as an amateur. She won tournaments as a professional. She just kept winning.
The Associated Press didn't mince words about it — they named her the "Woman Athlete of the First Half of the 20th Century." The whole first half. That's not a local honor. That's history making a judgment.
In 1938, Babe married George Zaharias. And the fans who already loved her for her skill and her personality — they had one more reason to admire her. Because in the end, Babe faced something no trophy could prepare a person for.
A long battle against cancer. And she fought it with a courage that the sports world watched and did not forget. She died in Galveston.
She was buried in Beaumont — the same Beaumont her family had moved to from this very spot, all those years before. Her mother Hannah was gone by 1945. Her father Ole by 1943.
They did not see everything their daughter became. But Ole and Hannah Didrikson raised seven children in a frame house right here, told them to develop what they had — and one of those children turned out to be Babe. Some stories start small and grow beyond any frame that could hold them.
This one started right here.
What the marker says
(June 26, 1911 - September 27, 1956) One of seven children, Mildred Ella "Babe" Didrikson was the daughter of Norwegian immigrants Hannah Marie (d. 1945) and Ole Didrikson (d. 1943). For the first several years of her life, the family occupied a frame house at this location. Later they moved to Beaumont. The Didriksons encouraged their children to develop their natural athletic abilities. Called "Baby" by her family, Mildred was later nicknamed "Babe" for baseball star Babe Ruth. Babe first demonstrated her athletic skill as a high school basketball star. After training in track and field events, she won two gold medals at the 1932 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. An exceptionally versatile athlete, Babe excelled in baseball, bowling, tennis, and other sports. Eventually she concentrated her efforts on golf and won many tournaments as both an amateur and a professional. The Associated Press named her the "Woman Athlete of the First Half of the 20th Century." In 1938 Babe married George Zaharias. Popular with sports fans for her skill and personality, she won further admiration during a long and courageous battle against cancer. She died in Galveston and was buried in Beaumont.