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| Babe Didrikson Zaharias, 1911-1956 |
In 1954 the United States was in the grip of the Cold War and being held in thrall by Joe McCarthy's
Red Scare, and it seemed like only Edward R Murrow and Fred Friendly were going to take exception to
McCarthy's madness. Love was in the air and so was radioactivity:
Monroe married Dimaggio and the first hydrogen weapon exploded over the
Bikini Atoll. The nation was poised on the brink of a cultural revolution, pondering but not yet able to envision the post-
Brown v Board of Education social landscape. Texas Instruments launched the transistor radio and Burger King launched its proletarian hamburger challenge. The first issue of
Sports Illustrated appeared on newsstands.
This was the year Babe Zaharias won the
US Women's Open for the third and final time, defeating Betty Hicks (for the second time) at the
Salem Country Club in Peabody, Massachusetts. It was her 48th and final victory on the links.
