At a time when women were still considered the "weaker sex," Babe Didrikson showed that women could be strong and excel in athletics. Didrikson was a sports phenomenon in the 1930s and 1940s who paved the way for Jackie Joyner-Kersee (1962–), Mia Hamm (1972–), and other prominent female athletes of the 1980s and 1990s. She was the first woman to challenge notions of what women could and should do athletically.

Didrickson was born in Port Arthur, Texas, and showed promise in athletics at an early age. Her personal goal was "to be the greatest athlete who ever lived," as quoted by Susan E. Cayleff in Babe. She was an AAU All-American high school basketball player. In 1932, she single-handedly won the AAU team Track and Field Championships, finishing first in five of the eight events she entered. She then competed in the Olympics (see entry under 1900s...