Describes the life of "Babe" Didrikson Zaharias from her start as a basketball player and Olympian through her career as a professional golfer. Addresses the difficulties faced by women who are successful in the male arena of athletics. Discusses her struggles against cancer and to be seen by the public as a normal female. (DK)

The Victorian concept that women would sacrifice their femininity by participating in vigorous sports has to some extent been ameliorated, but vestiges of the bias remain today. This attitude was not based on hostility toward women but on overprotectiveness and concern for imagined dangers for the health of women, whose prime function in society…

The early history of physical education for women in the northeastern section of the United States is presented. Short biographies of notable contributors, both men and women, to the expansion of physical education programs, first in womens colleges, and later in coeducational institutions, are presented. (JN)