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12 North Shore Towers Courier n August 2015 BY STEPHEN VRATTOS “This was the first time I ever chaired an event,” said Judy Lev of her inaugural stint at the helm of the “Babes & Guys” event on Thursday, July 9. The venerable annual charity affair, which raises money for the American Cancer Society, began more than twenty years ago as “Babes Against Cancer,” a ladies-only golf tournament, named after Babe Zaharias, the legendary American athlete of the early 20th Century who died from colon cancer at the age of 45. It has since incorporated the Men’s Golf Association and includes card playing, for those who don’t enjoy golf, and a luncheon for all. This year 72 women and 40 men hit the links, while a mix of 69 men and women filled the Country Club card room, playing cards, Mah Jongg or whatever other table-top game that struck their fancies, raising money for all types of cancer, not just colon. The morning started off drizzling, but not enough to delay the action or dampen the spirits of those swinging for a good cause. Photos by Dawn Steinberg We got us a convoy! Country Club Manager Mary Anne Langone and Ladies Golf Association President /Co-Chair Teresa Oropallo Golfers were allowed to pick their own foursomes or were assigned with others who were not a part of an existing quartet. In order to assuage potential ill will over competitiveness, winners were drawn from the entire pool of players, not just the elite. Still, additional prizes were awarded at each hole for such achievements as “longest drive” and “closest to the pin,” so as to keep the rounds lively. WHO IS BABE ZAHARIAS? Babe Zaharias was an accomplished American athlete in the fields of golf, basketball and track and field, among others. Born Mildred Ella Didrikson to Norwegian parents in Port Arthur, Texas, in 1911, the future golf phenom claims to have gotten her nickname after Babe Ruth upon hitting five homeruns in a childhood baseball game. In actuality, the nickname came from Didrikson’s mother who called her “Bebe” from the time she was a toddler. Didrikson gained world fame in track and field and All-American status in basketball. She played organized baseball and softball and was an expert diver, roller-skater and bowler. She won two gold medals and one silver medal for track and field in the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics. It wasn’t until 1935 that she started playing golf, a latecomer to the sport for which she would become most known. When denied her amateur status, she competed in a men’s PGA tournament, the Los Angeles Open, a feat no other woman has tried until Annika Sörenstam nearly six decades later. In the tournament, she was teamed with future husband and professional wrestler George Zaharias. Upon gaining her amateur status in 1942, she won the 1946 U.S. Women’s Amateur and the 1947 British Ladies Amateur—the first American to do so—and three Women’s Western Opens. Turning pro in 1947, she dominated the Women’s Professional Golf Association and later the Ladies Professional Golf Association, of which she was a founding member. By 1950, she had won every golf title available, totaling 82 golf tournaments. Zaharias was diagnosed with colon cancer in 1953, and after undergoing surgery, she made a comeback in 1954. She won her final major with a U.S. Women’s Open championship, one month after the surgery and while wearing a colostomy bag. Her colon cancer recurred in 1955, and on September 27, 1956, Zaharias died at the age of forty-five. Swinging in the RAIN Inclement start doesn’t dampen annual “BABES & GUYS” event (l. to r.) Babes & Guys Chairperson Judy Lev, her son Corey Lev and Ladies Golf Association President/Co-Chair Teresa Oropallo


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