Babe Didrikson’s Hitless Inning

Summary

History Daily – "Babe Didrikson’s Hitless Inning" (March 20, 2026)

Episode Overview

This episode of History Daily, hosted by Lindsay Graham, brings listeners to a landmark event in sports and women's history: the day Mildred "Babe" Didrikson pitched a hitless inning against the Brooklyn Dodgers on March 20, 1934. Through vivid narration, the episode explores Babe’s extraordinary athletic career, her resilience in the face of gender barriers, and her many achievements across track and field, baseball, and golf. The tone is admiring and immersive, blending storytelling with historical insight to highlight Babe’s lasting legacy.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Setting the Stage: March 20, 1934 (00:40–03:00, 12:09–16:18)

• Babe’s Landmark Appearance: On this day, 32-year-old Babe Didrikson made history as only the second woman to play in a Major League exhibition game, invited to pitch the first inning for the Philadelphia A's against the Brooklyn Dodgers.
• Reception: As Babe enters the field, she’s met with laughter and skepticism from the Dodgers’ bench, facing ridicule simply for being a woman among male pros.
• The Inning Unfolds:
  • Babe coolly delivers two blazing strikes to the first batter, stunning him and the crowd.
  • She walks the first batter after four balls (12:09), then faces down the next—who had mocked her.
  • The second batter is hit by a pitch, silencing the jeers.
  • With two men on base, Babe induces a grounder leading to a dramatic triple play—ending the inning without giving up a hit.

Notable Moment

“She’s used to being underestimated, and she’s looking forward to proving this guy wrong.”
— Narrator, (01:09)

Notable Quote

“All three Dodgers are out, and the inning is over... Babe has recorded a hitless inning, and the next morning’s papers are full of praise.”
— Narrator, (15:36)

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2. Babe’s Early Life & Rise to Fame (04:16–09:50)

• Unique Talents: Sixth of seven children, Babe earned her nickname from baseball legend Babe Ruth and shone in almost every sport she attempted—especially track and field.
• Solo Olympic Hopeful: At the 1932 Olympic trials, Babe was the only member of her "team" and entered eight out of ten possible events, an unheard-of feat.
• Olympic Achievements:
  • Set a world record in the baseball throw but couldn’t compete in the event at the Olympics.
  • Secured her Olympic berth by winning the javelin after a shoulder injury; also claimed gold in the 80m hurdles and a silver in the high jump (due to a controversial disqualification despite tying for the best height).

Notable Moment

“Babe wants more than her seat on the Olympic team. She wants her one woman team to win the trials.”
— Narrator, (07:43)

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3. Pioneering Professionalism & Baseball (12:09–16:18)

• Breaking Barriers: Post-Olympics, Babe became one of the first women to profit from sports, earning substantial fees from public appearances and professional games—at a rate 50 times higher than the average female worker.
• Baseball Stunt and Success:
  • In exhibition games, owners were quick to include Babe, recognizing her crowd-drawing power.
  • Despite occasionally struggling (e.g., later giving up 4 hits and 3 runs to the Red Sox), her performance—especially the hitless inning against the Dodgers—remained legendary.

Notable Quote

“Babe could continue earning good money from her baseball appearances, but she wants to compete too much to be happy just playing for the crowd.”
— Narrator, (15:59)

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4. Later Life & Golfing Triumphs (18:04–21:44)

• From Baseball to Golf: Shifting her focus in her mid-30s, Babe excelled in golf—even becoming the first woman to compete in the L.A. Open, a men’s professional tournament.
• Battling Adversity: Diagnosed with colon cancer, Babe defied medical advice by returning to competitive golf less than 14 weeks post-operation.
• Final Victory:
  • At the 1954 Women’s U.S. Open (age 43), despite intense pain, she won her third title by the largest margin of her career—an emotional crowning achievement.
  • Her 10th and final major title, achieved after doctors told her she’d never play again.

Notable Moment

“But Babe wasn’t prepared to give up the game. Less than 14 weeks after her operation, Babe was back competing in major tournaments.”
— Narrator, (19:16)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Facing Doubt:

  “The Brooklyn Dodgers are right to be worried. Mildred Babe Didrickson is unlike any player they’ve faced before.”
  — Narrator, (01:52)

• Dealing with Setbacks:

  “For most athletes, two gold medals and a silver would be considered an excellent haul. But for Babe, it’s one step short of perfection.”
  — Narrator, (09:29)

• Defying the Odds:

  “And it’s been achieved after doctors told her she’d never play golf again.”
  — Narrator, (20:36)

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Timeline of Key Events & Timestamps

• [00:40] – Babe prepares to take the mound against the Brooklyn Dodgers.
• [01:09] – Babe faces skepticism and prepares to prove her doubters wrong.
• [04:16] – Background on Babe’s early sports prowess and Olympic trials.
• [07:43] – Babe’s one-woman team wins the Olympic trials.
• [09:29] – Olympic results; triumph and heartbreak.
• [12:09] – Return to March 20, 1934: the inning against the Dodgers, earning fame and breaking attendance records.
• [15:36] – The triple play and celebration: a headline-making moment.
• [18:04] – Two decades later: Babe’s return to golf, cancer diagnosis, and 1954 US Open victory.
• [20:36] – The significance of her last major win and her legacy.

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Babe Didrikson’s Legacy

Babe Didrikson Zaharias’s life was defined by relentless determination, unmatched versatility, and barrier-breaking achievements:

• Athletic Versatility: Olympic champion, baseball pioneer, golf legend.
• Cultural Impact: Among the first women athletes to achieve financial independence through sports.
• Enduring Inspiration: Overcame prejudice, injury, and illness to rewrite the record books and expand the horizons for generations of women athletes.

“But though her life is cut tragically short, she’ll leave behind an unparalleled record of sporting success across multiple disciplines…”
— Narrator, (21:26)

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By centering on Babe’s hitless inning, the episode powerfully illustrates how, in a single afternoon, she defied expectations—and then spent a lifetime making history. For listeners, her story is as much about courage in the face of doubt as it is about winning and records.

Transcript

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It's March 20, 1934, at a baseball stadium in Fort Myers, Florida. Applause echoes around the stands as 32 year old Mildred Babe Didrickson climbs out of the dugout, a baseball in her hands. It's normal for a guest of honor to be invited to throw a ceremonial first pitch to begin a baseball game. But Babe isn't here just for that. The Philadelphia A's have invited the Olympic gold medalist Babe to play in their first inning against the Brooklyn Dodgers. It's only the second time in baseball history that a woman has taken to the field in a major League exhibition game. But as Babe passes the Dodgers bench, she hears mocking laughter. The opposing team obviously doesn't think much of Babe. She's only a woman, after all. After the ceremonial first pitch, Babe stays on the mound, tossing the ball into her glove, locking eyes with the Dodgers first batter. He knocks the dust from his cleats and points his back to the fences. Babe smirks in response. She's used to being underestimated, and she's looking forward to proving this guy wrong. Babe winds up and fires a perfect fastball over the plate and into the catcher's mitt. As the crowd cheers, the astonished Dodgers batter adjusts his feet. He rolls his shoulders, getting ready for the next pitch. He spits on the ground and takes his stance, bat raised. But Babe's second pitch is even faster and more precise than the first. Batter swings and misses. The Dodgers batter has lost his swagger. He glances at the bench with a shake of his head, his teammates howling with laughter, mocking him. But secretly, they're all dreading their turn at bat. The Brooklyn Dodgers are right to be worried. Mildred Babe Didrichson is unlike any player they've faced before. She's already won two Olympic gold medals and broken world records in track and field. And during the rest of her sporting career, she'll go on to play professional basketball and billiards and win 10 major championships in golf. On every stage, Babe will prove those who doubt her wrong, just as she did when she took to the field and pitched a hitless inning against the Brooklyn Dodgers on March 20, 1934.

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This is the story of the 1. As a maintenance tech at a university, he knows ordering from multiple suppliers takes time away from keeping their arena up and running. That's why he counts on Grainger to get everything he needs, from lighting and H vac parts to plumbing supplies all in one place. And with fast, dependable delivery, he's stocked and ready for the next tip off. Call 1-800-granger. Click granger.com or just stop by Granger for the ones who get it done. From noiser and airship I'm lindsey graham and this is history. Daily. History is made every day on this podcast. Every day, we tell the true stories of the people and events that shaped our world. Today is March 20th, 1934 Babe Didrickson's hitless inning. It's July 16th, 1932, inside the Dyke Stadium in Chicago, four years before Mildred Babe Didrickson's Hitless Inning. As the 29 year old Babe warms up with hundreds of fellow athletes, an announcer reads out the name of every woman competing today. It's one of the biggest track meets of the year, the Olympic Trials. And when the day is over, the United States Women's Olympic team will have been finalized. Babes hoping to make the cut, but she's in a unique position compared to her fellow competitors. To be eligible for the trials, every athlete must be part of a team. Most teams have sent between 12 and 20 women to the trials. But when the announcer introduces Babe's team, she's the only athlete on it. Even more surprising is the list of events that Babe has entered. Most competitors have focused on their best one or two events, but Babe has entered eight out of a possible 10. From an early age, it was clear to all that Mildred Didrickson was a talented athlete and an incredible competitor. As the sixth of seven children, Mildred was nicknamed Baby by her siblings. But as she grew up and developed an interest in sports, Mildred changed her nickname to Babe, in honor of her hero, baseball player, Babe Ruth. Babe dominated her school basketball and baseball teams, and after graduating, she continued winning on her employers basketball, baseball and softball teams. But it was in track and field where Babe was at her best. At the 1931American Championship, she set a new world record in the baseball throw, reaching an unprecedented 296ft. And it's in that event today that Babe will start her attempt to make the selection for the Olympics team. As Babe takes her place in the middle of the field, the crowd goes quiet. They know that Babe is the best in the world at this event, and they're looking forward to seeing what she can do. Babe leans back and then hurls the ball as far and high as she can. But then she kicks the ground in frustration as the officials mark the spot where it lands. The ball has reached 272ft, 24ft short of Babe's world record. Even though Babe is disappointed by her effort, no other competitor comes close to beating it. And after the last throw is made, Babe's confirmed as the winner. But since the baseball throw is not an Olympic event, Babe doesn't yet have a place on the team. Over the next few hours, Babe takes on three more throwing events. She wins first place in the shot put with a distance of 39ft, but that's also not on the Olympic schedule for women. In the discus, Babe can't get into a good throwing rhythm and she has to settle for fourth place. Then in her first throw of the javelin, Babe pulls a muscle in her shoulder, howling in pain at the end of her throw. But then she nods in satisfaction when the officials measure how far it flew. 139ft is good enough to put her in first place. Babe's injury prevents her from making any more throws, and she faces an anxious wait while her opponents try to beat her with their second and third efforts, but none of them does. Babe is confirmed the winner, securing her place at the Olympic Games. But Babe wants more than her seat on the Olympic team. She wants her one woman team to win the trials. So by the end of the day, Babe has also triumphed in the 80 meter hurdles, the high jump and the long jump, giving her 30 points in total, eight more than the second place team, which boasts over a dozen members. Two weeks later, Babe travels to Los Angeles, California for the 1932 Olympic Games. There she competes in the three events she's qualified for. And all three are closely fought. Babe wins gold in the javelin, and four days later, she wins a second in the 80 meter hurdles. Babe's final event is the high jump. She makes it through to a gold medal jump off with another American, Jean Shiley. But although both women clear a new world record height of 1.67 meters, Babe is controversially disqualified for an illegal jumping action. For most athletes, two gold medals and a silver would be considered an excellent haul. But for Babe, it's one step short of perfection. So after her disappointment at the Olympics, Babe will move on from track and field in search of her next sporting challenge. And when she goes up against the men of Major League Baseball, she'll be determined that this time she won't fall short.

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[Narrator]

It's March 20, 1934, at a baseball stadium in Fort Worth, Myers, Florida, two years after Mildred Babe Didrickson's triumph at the Olympics. Babe waves to the Brooklyn Dodgers first batter as he kicks at the dirt at first base, jeers echo from his teammates in the dugout after Babe's first two pitches rocketed past him for strikes. Babe's next four pitches were balls walking her cocky opponent, but he didn't manage to get his bat on the ball, so Babe laughs out loud at his obvious frustration. Following the 1932 Olympics, Bay became a familiar face to American sports fans. She graced the COVID of magazines and appeared on stage in vaudeville shows. She also began accepting money for personal appearances and sponsorship deals, making her one of the first women ever to make a living from sports. But that meant that Babe lost her amateur status and was barred from competing in the Amateurs Only Olympic Games. But it didn't dent Babe's appeal with the public. To many, Babes symbolized the American dream, her talent and hard work lifting her from humble beginnings and earning her a fortune. For the last two years, Babe has made an average of $250 a week, 50 times the average wage that women earn in New York's textile factories. And some of Babe's biggest paydays come from baseball. After Babe made one or two guest appearances for professional clubs, owners realized that having Babe on the team almost almost guaranteed a large crowd. Now Babe can command a fee of $200 for a single inning pitched. And not just from women's teams. Recently, the Philadelphia A's of major league Baseball have asked Babe to pitch for them during a spring training game. And after walking the first batter, Babe, is enjoying the chance to pitch to more of the country's best players. Babe takes stock of the second Dodgers batter to step up to the plate. This guy was the ringleader of the mocking laughter aimed at her when she first took the field. But Babe knows how to wipe the smile off his face. She slings a fastball right at the batter's body, and it's too quick for him to get out of the way. The ball smacks into his upper arm, and the batter wheels away from the plate with a yelp. He tries his best to disguise the pain, but Babe can see that it hurt. And although the batter gets to advance to first base after being hit, Babe thinks the sacrifice is worth it because no one is laughing now. And so far, neither of the two Dodgers she's faced has registered a hit. Next, the third Dodgers batter steps up to the plate. But now there are two men on base, and Babe is determined that they will not score. She pitches the ball again, and the Dodgers player manages to hit it into the infield. But Babe's teammates react quickly. One fielder recovers the ball and then stands on his base to force out the first baserunner. Then he throws it to first base, forcing the hitter out. And finally the ball is thrown to third base, where the player there catches the ball, then tags out the runner. As he slides in, the official signals that he's also out, making it a triple play. All three Dodgers are out, and the inning is over. As the A's players pat Babe on the back, she removes her cap and waves at the crowd. Her time on the field is over, and one of the A's usual pitchers will take over for the rest of the game. But Babe has recorded a hitless inning, and the next morning's papers are full of praise. But Babe doesn't spend much time reading about herself. Instead, she suits up for another major league team, the St. Louis Cardinals, and pitches the opening inning of their game against the Boston Red Sox. This time, her opponents get the better of her. Red Red Sox register four hits and score three runs. But the huge crowd that turns out to watch Babe on the mound means that the Cardinals management aren't too upset with her performance. Babe could continue earning good money from her baseball appearances, but she wants to compete too much to be happy just playing for the crowd. So as she reaches her mid-30s, she will shift her focus again. Babe will take her natural talent and fierce competitive spirit to the the golf course, where she'll continue her winning streak and secure her legacy as one of the greatest all around sportswomen in history.

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[Narrator]

It's July 3, 1954, on the golf course at Salem Country Club in Massachusetts, two decades after Mildred Babe Didrickson pitched a hitless inning. The now 43 year old Babe steps onto the green of the 17th hole to a smattering of applause. She's married now and known as Babe Didrickson Zaharias, but her new name hasn't changed her spirit. She's just as competitive as ever. It's the final round of the Women's US Open. Babe's drive off the tee has left her well placed to hit a birdie, another under par score in a round that's vaulted her to the top of the leaderboard. But as Babe lines up her putt, a sharp pain shoots through her lower abdomen. Babe steps away from the ball. She takes a deep breath and tries to settle herself. She focuses on the hole. And then she sinks the putt ever since she was a teenager, Babe has played golf as a hobby to wind down after her hard training sessions on the track. But when Babe lost her amateur status and was barred from competing in Olympic track and field, she began taking golf more seriously. In January 1938, Babe became the first woman to compete in the Los Angeles Open, a professional golf tournament for men. And two years later, Babe won her first major competition, the women's Western Open. That ranked her as one of the best women golfers in the world. And over the next 12 years, she won another eight major titles. But just over a year ago, Bay began an even tougher contest. Doctors informed her that she had cancer of the colon. Surgeons operated to remove the tumor, but they told Babe never to play golf again, in case the swinging motion ruptured the fragile repairs they made to her body. But Babe wasn't prepared to give up the game. Less than 14 weeks after her operation, Babe was back competing in major tournaments. And today is the first time she's been in a position to win since her return. Babe has won the women's U.S. open twice before, and her latest birdie means that she's 11 shots clear of her nearest rival. Then, after Babe avoids near disaster on the final hole, her victory is confirmed. And it's not just her 10th major title. It's also the largest margin of victory in her career. And it's been achieved after doctors told her she'd never play golf again. But this third U.S. open title is her last. A year later, the cancer will return, and this time, doctors won't be able to save her. Babe Didrickson Zaharias will die in 1956 at the age of just 45. But though her life is cut tragically short, she'll leave behind an unparalleled record of sporting success across multiple disciplines, including 10 major golf championships, two Olympic gold medals, and one incredible hitless inning against the men of major league baseball, which babe pitched on March 20, 1934. Next on hill History Daily, March 23, 1857. A department store becomes home to an invention that will transform skylines around the world. The first passenger elevator. From Noiser and Airship. This is History Daily. Hosted, edited and executive produced by me, Lindsey Graham Audio editing by Mohammed Supervising Sound Designer Matthew Philip Music by Thrum this episode is written and researched by Owen Paul Nichols. Edited by Scott Reeves Managing producer Emily Byrne Executive producers are William Simpson for Airship and Pascal Hughes for Noiser.

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