Babe Ruth and Babe Zaharias

A hero is defined by many different things, and there are many different kinds of heroes. A hero can be a person who saves a life, fights for public rights, heroes are always remembered for their accomplishments. The main qualities of heroes are courage, bravery, invincibility, ideas, friends, actions, thoughts, and goodness. All of these are things that define a hero. Some examples of heroes are Martin Luther King Jr, George Washington, and are most recent hero, Mark McGwire with his record breaking 70 home runs.

In the history of American sports, two great athletes stand out and have become heroes because of their great ability and spirit. Babe Ruth was one of these heroes and greatest athletes of all time. Babe Ruth was born on February 5, 1895 and died on August 16, 1948. Babe Ruth began his baseball career in 1919. He was signed onto to the Yankees as a rookie. At the end of his first season Babe Ruth had hit a record breaking 54 home runs, and had an outstanding batting average of .376. He held the record for most home runs in a season, 12 times. In 1921 Babe Ruth improved upon his record and hit 59 homeruns. Finally in 1927 Babe Ruth hit 60 homers, his highest number; 14% of the home runs hit that season. Babe Ruth and Reggie Jackson were the only people to ever hit three home runs in the world series. Babe Ruth did it twice, in 1926 and 1928.

Babe Didrickson was also a great hero and one of the best athletes of all time. Unlike Babe Ruth, she was a female athlete. Babe Didrickson was born in Fort Arthur, Texas in 1914 and died in 1966. Her real name was Mildred Ella Didrickson. She competed in the Olympics in 1932. Also, Mildred Didrickson set a record in the javelin throw, for 146 feet 4 inches. She also won a silver medal in the high jump. Like Babe Ruth, she played baseball and was a home run hitter; her average was also very amazing. However, the sport Babe Didrickson really excelled in was golf. Babe Didrickson’s golf career started in 1933. Eventually, she would continuously win Women golf tournaments. She also played many other sports, which included; Basketball, Tennis, and Track and Field. Mildred Didrickson died of cancer, which she had been fighting since 1952. In 1938 Babe Didrickson met and married George Zaharias. During 1947, Babe Zaharias won 17 straight golf titles.

Both of these heroes were looked up to, and changed sports forever. It’s obvious that Babe Didrickson and Babe Ruth influenced many females and males to play sports. Many people think of them as heroes, and many people remember them as heroes today.