Babe Zaharias named AP Greatest Female Athlete of first half of the 20th century | Feb. 14, 1950 | Colorado’s Top 150 Sports Moments
Happy birthday, Colorado — and Colorado sports.
Leading into the state’s 150th birthday Aug. 1, The Denver Gazette has partnered with the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame to publicize the definitive list of Colorado’s top 150 sports moments.
Colorado Sports Hall of Fame historian Dave Plati and a committee of 10 compiled and will release the list every week until the No. 1 moment on July 31. Plati and Broncos icon Jim Saccomano will unveil the list weekly on a Colorado Sports Hall of Fame podcast at coloradosports.org/podcast/.
No. 68 — Feb. 14, 1950
Dubbed Denver’s “Queen of the Fairways,” Babe Zaharias was named by The Associated Press as the Greatest Female Athlete of the first half of the 20th century. She lived in the Denver area for much of the 1940s (and also spent considerable time at the Zaharias family farm in Pueblo) and was cited for her prowess in both track and field and golf. During her time living in Colorado, she won 17 straight golf tournaments, including the U.S. Women’s Amateur and the Ladies’ British Open Amateur. At Cherry Hills Country Club, she won for the fourth time what then was considered a major, the Women’s Western Open.
—Dave Plati, Colorado Sports Hall of Fame historian