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Ann Meyers Drysdale (born Ann Elizabeth Meyers; March 26, 1955) is an American former
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...
player and sportscaster. She was a standout player in high school, college, the Olympic Games, international tournaments, and the professional levels. Meyers was the first player to be part of the U.S. national team while still in high school. She was the first woman to be signed to a four-year athletic scholarship for college, at
UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...
. She was also the first woman to sign a contract with a
National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...
team, the Indiana Pacers (1979), for $50,000. Her USA World Champion team member Lusia "Lucy" Harris-Stewart was technically the first and only woman to be drafted by an NBA team—the New Orleans Jazz's seventh-round pick in 1977—though she never intended to attend tryouts. Denise Long, from Iowa, was the first woman to be drafted by an NBA team—the San Francisco Warriors' thirteenth-round pick in 1969—but the NBA commissioner voided the pick because the Warriors had no intention of playing her alongside men, so Harris-Stewart is technically the one and only woman drafted by an NBA team and Meyers was the first to sign an NBA contract. Previously a resident of
Rancho Mirage, California Rancho Mirage is a city in Riverside County, California, United States. The population was 17,218 at the 2010 census, up from 13,249 at the 2000 census, but the seasonal (part-time) population can exceed 20,000. Incorporated in 1973 and locate ...
, Meyers currently resides in Huntington Beach, California. She was president and general manager for the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury and a vice president for the NBA's Phoenix Suns. She is currently a vice president for the Phoenix Mercury and a color analyst for the Phoenix Suns television broadcasts. For over 26 years, she served as a network television sports analyst for
TNT Trinitrotoluene (), more commonly known as TNT, more specifically 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, and by its preferred IUPAC name 2-methyl-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. TNT is occasionally used as a reagen ...
,
ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). Th ...
,
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
, and
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
. Meyers is a Board Member for the
Lott IMPACT Trophy The Lott IMPACT Trophy is presented annually to the college football defensive IMPACT player of the year. IMPACT is an acronym for: Integrity, Maturity, Performance, Academics, Community, and Tenacity. The award purports to equally recognize the ...
, which is named after
Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coa ...
defensive back
Ronnie Lott Ronald Mandel Lott (born May 8, 1959) is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback and safety in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons during the 1980s and 1990s. Lott played college football for the Univ ...
, and is given annually to college football's Defensive IMPACT Player of the Year. Meyers was inducted in the inaugural class at the
Women's Basketball Hall of Fame The Women's Basketball Hall of Fame honors those who have contributed to the sport of women's basketball. The Hall of Fame opened in 1999 in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA. It is the only facility of its kind dedicated to all levels of women's ba ...
in 1999. She was inducted into the
FIBA Hall of Fame The FIBA Hall of Fame, or FIBA Basketball Hall of Fame, honors players, coaches, teams, referees, and administrators who have greatly contributed to international competitive basketball. It was established by FIBA, in 1991. It includes the " Samar ...
in 2007.


Early life

Meyers was born on March 26, 1955, the sixth of Patricia and Bob Meyers' 11 children. Her father played guard for
Marquette University Marquette University () is a private Jesuit research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Established by the Society of Jesus as Marquette College on August 28, 1881, it was founded by John Martin Henni, the first Bishop of the diocese of M ...
, then for the Shooting Stars, a professional team in
Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...
. One of her brothers, Dave, was an All-American at UCLA and went on to play for the
Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 1968 ...
.


Athletic accomplishments


High school

Meyers attended Cornelia Connelly High School and then later
Sonora High School Sonora High School (SOHS) is a public high school located at 401 S. Palm Street in La Habra, north Orange County, California. One of seven high schools in the Fullerton Joint Union High School District, Sonora served over 1,944 students in the 2 ...
in
La Habra, California La Habra (archaic spelling of ''La Abra'', ) is a city in the northwestern corner of Orange County, California, United States. In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 60,239. A related city, La Habra Heights, is located to the north o ...
, where she was able to engage in more competitive play. As an all-around athlete, she lettered in seven sports, including in
softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...
, badminton,
field hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ...
, tennis, and basketball.Woolum p 188 She earned thirteen Most Valuable Player awards in high school sports. She led her basketball teams to an 80–5 record. In 1974, Meyers became the first high school student to play for the U.S. national team.


College

Meyers was a four-year athletic scholarship player for the
UCLA Bruins women's basketball The UCLA Bruins women's basketball program was established in 1974. The current coach is Cori Close. The team was a member of the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) until joining the NCAA in 1984. The UCLA Bruins women's ...
team (1974–1978), the first woman to be so honored at any university. In a game against
Stephen F. Austin Stephen Fuller Austin (November 3, 1793 – December 27, 1836) was an American-born empresario. Known as the "Father of Texas" and the founder of Anglo Texas,Hatch (1999), p. 43. he led the second and, ultimately, the successful colonization ...
on February 18, 1978, she recorded the first
quadruple-double In basketball, a double-double is a single-game performance in which a player accumulates ten or more in two of the following five statistical categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots. The first "double" in the term ...
in NCAA Division I basketball history, with 20 points, 14 rebounds, 10 assists and 10 steals.UCLA Women's basketball media guideSKYHAWK JUNIOR MAKES NCAA HISTORY WITH QUADRUPLE-DOUBLE
University of Tennessee at Martin – UT Martin Sports, November 14, 2007 (Quadruple-double history mention)
Since then, only four Division I players, three female and one male, have done so. On March 25, 1978, her UCLA Bruins team was the
AIAW The Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) was founded in 1971 to govern collegiate women's athletics in the United States and to administer national championships (see AIAW Champions). It evolved out of the Commission on Interc ...
national champion: UCLA defeated
Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
, 90–74 at
Pauley Pavilion Edwin W. Pauley Pavilion, commonly known as Pauley Pavilion, is an indoor arena located in the Westwood Village district of Los Angeles, California, on the campus of UCLA. It is home to the UCLA Bruins men's and women's basketball teams. The ...
. While at
UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...
(1976–1979), she became the first four-time
All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...
n women's basketball player. She was the winner of the Honda Sports Award as outstanding women's college basketball player of the year, as well as the Broderick Cup for outstanding woman athlete of the year in 1978. As of 2008, she still holds UCLA career records for season steals (125), career steals (403), and career blocked shots (101).


UCLA statistics

Source


Olympics and world competition

Meyers was a member of the US team that won the
1975 Pan American Games The 1975 Pan American Games were held in Mexico City, Mexico, from October 12 to October 26, 1975, exactly twenty years after the second Pan American Games were held there. It was the third major sporting event held in the Mexican capital in se ...
Gold medal. She played on the US Olympic basketball team that won a silver medal in the
1976 Summer Olympics Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 P ...
in
Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...
. That team was led by Billie Moore, her own coach at UCLA. She was on the 1979 US team that won the 1979
FIBA World Championship for Women The FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup, also known as the Basketball World Cup for Women or simply the FIBA Women's World Cup, is an international basketball tournament for women's national teams held quadrennially. It was created by the Internati ...
Gold medal. This was the first time since 1957 that the United States won a World Championship title. She also won silver medals at the
1979 Pan American Games The 1979 Pan American Games (Spanish: ''Juegos Panamericanos de 1979''), officially the VIII Pan American Games were a multi-sport event governed by the Panam Sports Organization, and were held in San Juan, Puerto Rico, from July 1 to July 15 ...
and 1977 World University Games. Meyers was named to the team representing the US at the 1979 William Jones Cup competition in
Taipei, Taiwan Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the ...
. The USA team won all six games en route to the gold medal.


Professional

In 1980, Meyers made NBA history when she signed a $50,000 no-cut contract with NBA's Indiana Pacers. She participated in three-day tryouts for the team, the first by any woman for the NBA, but eventually was not chosen for the final squad. She became a color analyst for the team at a time when there were very few women in sportscasting.Mercury Name Ann Meyers Drysdale As General Manager
Phoenix Mercury web site, September 12, 2006
Meyers was the first woman player drafted by the
Women's Professional Basketball League The Women's Professional Basketball League (abbreviated WBL) was a professional women's basketball league in the United States. The league played three seasons from the fall of 1978 to the spring of 1981. The league was the first professional w ...
( WPBL) in 1978 to the
New Jersey Gems The New Jersey Gems was a franchise that played in the Women's Professional Basketball League (WBL), one of only three teams in the league to survive through all three seasons, from 1978–79 to 1980–81. The team made the league playoffs once, lo ...
. Playing for the Gems, Meyers was the WPBL Co-MVP for the 1979–1980 season. She wore jersey No. 15 for the Gems. She entered the inaugural Women Superstars competition in 1979, finishing fourth, but then went on to win the next three consecutive years: 1980, 1981, and 1982. Meyers served as an analyst for NBC Sports coverage of women's basketball at the
2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
,
2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...
and 2016 Summer Olympics.


Honors and Hall of Fame inductions

* 1978—Winner of the Honda award for basketball * 1978—The
Honda-Broderick Cup The Honda-Broderick Cup is a sports award for college-level female athletes. The awards are voted on by a national panel of more than 1000 collegiate athletic directors. It was first presented by Tom Broderick, an American owner of a women's sport ...
winner for all sports. * Meyers received her first Hall of Fame membership in 1985, when she was inducted into the International Women's Sports Hall of Fame in the contemporary category for basketball. * She was inducted into the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame in 1988 as the first woman inductee. * Her No. 15 basketball jersey was one of the first four retired by UCLA. She was honored on February 3, 1990, in a ceremony in
Pauley Pavilion Edwin W. Pauley Pavilion, commonly known as Pauley Pavilion, is an indoor arena located in the Westwood Village district of Los Angeles, California, on the campus of UCLA. It is home to the UCLA Bruins men's and women's basketball teams. The ...
, along with
Denise Curry Denise Curry (born August 22, 1959) is an American former basketball player and college and professional basketball coach. Curry was inducted in the inaugural class at the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 1999. College basketb ...
(#12),
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Kareem (alternatively spelled Karim or Kerim) ( ar, کریم) is a common given name and surname of Arabic origin that means "generous", "noble", "honorable". It is also one of the Names of God in Islam in the Quran. Given name Karim * Karim A ...
(#33), and
Bill Walton William Theodore Walton III (born November 5, 1952) is an American television sportscaster and former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for coach John Wooden and the UCLA Bruins, winning three consecutive national ...
(#32). This was the key moment in the "Pauley at 25" celebration of twenty-five years of the arena. The primary criteria for being chosen was that all four players were three-time All-Americans. * On May 10, 1993, she was enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, located in Springfield, Massachusetts. * In 1994, Meyers was the first woman ever to compete in the Celebrity Golf Association Championship. * On January 31, 1995, she attended a ceremony in the gym of her high school, Sonora High School, in
La Habra, California La Habra (archaic spelling of ''La Abra'', ) is a city in the northwestern corner of Orange County, California, United States. In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 60,239. A related city, La Habra Heights, is located to the north o ...
, where her player jersey was officially retired, and hung in display * She was inducted into the
National High School Hall of Fame The National High School Hall of Fame is a program of the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) that honors individuals who have made outstanding contributions to high school sports or performing arts. As of 2019, a total of ...
in 1995. * In 1999, Meyers received the
Mel Greenberg Media Award The Mel Greenberg Media Award, named after Women's Basketball Hall of Fame Legend Mel Greenberg, is presented annually by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) to "a member of the media who has best displayed a commitment to women’s ba ...
, presented by the WBCA. * On June 5, 1999, she was inducted as a charter member of the
Women's Basketball Hall of Fame The Women's Basketball Hall of Fame honors those who have contributed to the sport of women's basketball. The Hall of Fame opened in 1999 in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA. It is the only facility of its kind dedicated to all levels of women's ba ...
, in
Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division and the state' ...
. * In 2001, Meyers was honored as a Wooden All-Time All-American by the
Wooden award The John R. Wooden Award is an award given annually to the most outstanding men's and women's college basketball players. The program consists of the men's and women's Player of the Year awards, the Legends of Coaching award, and recognizing the ...
. * She was a 2003 NCAA Silver Anniversary Awards recipient. She joins William Naulls (1981), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1994), and Bill Walton (1999) as UCLA athletes who have been so honored on the 25th anniversary of a major athletic accomplishment. * In 2007, she was enshrined in the
FIBA Hall of Fame The FIBA Hall of Fame, or FIBA Basketball Hall of Fame, honors players, coaches, teams, referees, and administrators who have greatly contributed to international competitive basketball. It was established by FIBA, in 1991. It includes the " Samar ...
as part of the inaugural class of 2007. She is 1 of 3 United States citizens, along with male player
Bill Russell William Felton Russell (February 12, 1934 – July 31, 2022) was an American professional basketball player who played as a center for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1956 to 1969. A five-time NBA Most Va ...
and coach
Dean Smith Dean Edwards Smith (February 28, 1931 – February 7, 2015) was an American men's college basketball head coach. Called a "coaching legend" by the Basketball Hall of Fame, he coached for 36 years at the University of North Carolina at Chapel H ...
so honored. * Ann has been involved with Special Olympics for more than 30 years and currently serves as a Sports Ambassador for Special Olympics Southern California.


Family

On November 1, 1986, she married former Los Angeles Dodger Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Don Drysdale, and took the name Ann Meyers Drysdale. It was the first time that a married couple were members of their respective sports'
Halls of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actual halls or muse ...
. They had three children: sons Don Jr. (DJ) and Darren, and daughter Drew. Meyers was
widow A widow (female) or widower (male) is a person whose spouse has died. Terminology The state of having lost one's spouse to death is termed ''widowhood''. An archaic term for a widow is "relict," literally "someone left over". This word can so ...
ed on July 3, 1993, when Drysdale died of a heart attack in
Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...
,
Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
,
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
. Meyers was the sister of former NBA player Dave Meyers, who also played college basketball and was an All-American at UCLA, under coach John Wooden. He played four seasons for the NBA's
Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 1968 ...
.


Broadcasting career

Meyers has been the women's basketball analyst at the Summer Olympics since the NBC's coverage of the
2000 Sydney Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from ...
for NBC Sports. She was offered a job to broadcast the
Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January ...
games in 1993, but she turned it down due to family considerations. She served as an analyst on ESPN's coverage of the WNBA and previously worked for NBC Sports full-time as its lead WNBA analyst from 1997 to 2002. Meyers also worked " Hoop-It-Up" telecasts in 1994 and 1995. Since 1983, she has served as an
ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). Th ...
analyst for various events including both men's and women's
NCAA basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athle ...
games. She also worked as a color analyst for the Indiana Pacers making her the first woman to do game analysis for the team. On July 11, 2018, she announced her retirement from the Phoenix Suns broadcasting team as the color analyst. Meyers led the U.S. to a silver medal at the 1976 Olympic Games in
Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...
as women's basketball made its Olympic debut, and returned eight years later as an announcer for
ABC Sports ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Televisi ...
at the
1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the sec ...
in Los Angeles. She has since covered a wide variety of sports for major networks in the U.S, including the 1986, 1990 and 1994 Goodwill Games, men's and women's
college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...
, and
NCAA softball College softball is softball as played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education, predominantly in the United States. College softball is normally played by women at the Intercollegiate level, whereas college baseball is nor ...
and volleyball. In 2012, she joined Phoenix Suns broadcasting as a color analyst.


See also

* List of Silver Anniversary Awards (NCAA) Recipients * Don Drysdale *
UCLA Bruins women's basketball The UCLA Bruins women's basketball program was established in 1974. The current coach is Cori Close. The team was a member of the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) until joining the NCAA in 1984. The UCLA Bruins women's ...


Notes


References

* *


Bibliography

* UCLA Bruins Women's basketball media guide (PDF copy available a
www.uclabruins.com



Basketball Hall of Fame Profile: Ann Meyers







External links



{{DEFAULTSORT:Meyers, Ann 1955 births Living people All-American college women's basketball players American women's basketball players Basketball players at the 1975 Pan American Games Basketball players at the 1976 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 1979 Pan American Games Basketball players from San Diego College basketball announcers in the United States FIBA Hall of Fame inductees Indiana Pacers announcers Medalists at the 1976 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1977 Summer Universiade Medalists at the 1979 Pan American Games Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees Olympic silver medalists for the United States in basketball Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States Pan American Games medalists in basketball Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States Phoenix Suns announcers People from Rancho Mirage, California Shooting guards Sportspeople from Huntington Beach, California Sportspeople from Riverside County, California UCLA Bruins women's basketball players UCLA Bruins women's volleyball players United States women's national basketball team players Universiade medalists in basketball Universiade silver medalists for the United States Women's National Basketball Association announcers Women sports announcers Women's Professional Basketball League players