Babe Didrikson Zaharias' 1932 Olympic Games Gold Medal Winning Worn Track & Field Cleats
Tied on Babe Didrikson's feet for two gold medals, a (controversial) silver and three World Records at The 1932 Olympic Games in Los Angeles were these black leather 'Spot Bilt' cleats that predate track-specific spikes by decades. Brought to us directly from Babe Didrikson Zaharias' own archives, these prized Olympic Babe Didrikson worn leather "slippers" were found preserved in a craft paper-lined cardboard box just as her husband and manager George Zaharias kept significant artifacts from her career. A single sewn tongue tag with the brand is stitched to the back of the often flipped right cleat. The narrow sole shoes have six metal cleats on the tow end, three sets of two. The bottom two sets have varying degrees of noticeable wear consistent with obvious usage and light colored semi-circle stitching around each.
Best chronicled in an article on the Olympics official website titled 'The Legend of Babe Didrikson' are her inconceivable 1932 Olympic achievements. "Between 31 July and 7 August 1932, multi-talented champion Mildred “Babe” Didrikson won three medals and set three records at the Olympic Games in Los Angeles: gold in the javelin throw and the 80m hurdles, and silver in the high jump despite having tied for first place with a leap of 1.65m, after being deemed to have used an invalid technique. This unprecedented Olympic medal haul has never been repeated, and Didrikson’s performances at the Games preceded an extraordinary amateur then professional golf career." The story goes on to state that while Didrikson (6 years short of marrying George and gaining the Zaharias surname) qualified for five Olympic events at the local Evanston, Illinois meet, she was only able to compete in those three events - the limit for women at the time. It was the first Olympics offering the javelin through, making Babe Didrikson the first women champion of that discipline. The 11.8 seconds that it took for her to run the 80m hurdles on August 3rd? That was a world record only to be bested by Didrikson's 11.7 seconds gold finals finish. The final event on on August 7th yielded yet another world record in Didrikson's 1.65m high jump, matched by competitor Jean Shiley. Didrikson again was on the wrong side of controversy (see The Babe's 1934 baseball mitt lot description for more on this). Leading with her head first, this high jump execution was deemed invalid and despite the world record tie with her competitor received a silver medal for her success. The accompanying lot photos for this museum grade pair of shoes are for reference purposes only. A signed letter of provenance from The Babe and George Zaharias Foundation, which benefits disabled and underprivileged children, comes with this lot.
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