Meyers, Ann E. (Mrs. Drysdale)
Basketball
b. March 26, 1955, San Diego, CA
The first nationally prominent woman basketball player, the 5-foot-9, 140-pound Meyers had hopes of being an Olympic high jumper when she was in high school, where she won letters in seven sports. But she decided to focus on basketball after becoming the first high school student to play for a U. S. national team, in 1974.
Meyers was the first woman to win a full athletic scholarship to UCLA. She was a four-time All-American and she won the Broderick Award as the nation's best woman collegiate player in 1978, when UCLA won the national championship. Her coach, Billie Moore, said of her, "I've never seen anyone have more impact on a team than Annie did."
An outstanding all-around player, Meyers starred for the 1975 national team that won the Pan-American Games and world championships, the 1976 Olympic team that won a silver medal at Montreal, the team that finished second in the 1977 World University games, and the 1979 Pan-American Games champion. She was selected to carry the U. S. flag at the Pan-American opening ceremonies.
In 1979, Meyers became the first woman to sign an NBA contract, with the Indiana Pacers. She didn't make the team, but she got a job as commentator on their televised games. With the New Jersey Gems of the Women's Professional Basketball League, she tied for most valuable player honors in 1979/80, when she led the league in steals and averaged 22.2 points a game.
Meyers won the made-for-television Women Superstars competition three years in a row, 1980-82. She then became a full-time broadcaster. Her brother, Dave, was an All-American at UCLA and played in the NBA, and she was married to former Dodger pitcher and broadcaster Don Drysdale, who died in 1993.