"Annie was one of the best players ever. I didn't say male or female; I said ever."--Bill Russell, former Boston Celtics player
Ann Meyers Drysdale is one of the greatest stars in the history of basketball. But her rise wasn't without controversy. Her 1979 NBA bid to play with the Indiana Pacers brought a barrage of criticism. But Ann simply wanted to play among the best. She had always competed with the guys, and she never let anyone keep her down. In You Let Some Girl Beat You? she shares her inspirational story for the first time.
A female first in many categories, Meyers Drysdale was the first woman ever signed to a four-year athletic scholarship to UCLA, where she remains the only four-time Bruin basketball All American, male or female. Ann was also the only woman ever asked to compete in ABC Sports' Superstars, pitting her against elite athletes like Mark Spitz, Joe Frazier, O.J. Simpson, and Mark Gastineau.
After her athletic career Ann Meyers Drysdale went on to do color commentary on all the national stations. She also married Don Drysdale, legendary pitcher and announcer for the Los Angeles Dodgers, making them the first ever married couple enshrined in their respective sport's Hall of Fame. Today Ann continues to break through barriers. She is the only female vice president in the NBA (she is vice president of the Phoenix Suns), and is also the general manager of the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury, which has won two WNBA championships since she took over four years ago. The New York Times featured her prominently in a piece in August 2011 called "Pioneers Continue to Shepherd Women's Basketball." Time magazine recently named her one of the ten greatest female athletes of all time.
Ann Myers Drysdale:
Ann was recently named by Time Magazine as one of the Top 10 Female Sports Pioneers of all time and is the only woman ever to play for an NBA team (the Indiana Pacers in 1979) and the only woman to sign a no-cut contract with the NBA. She was also the first woman ever to do color commentary of an NBA game, as well as the first woman to announce an NBA game on network television.
Ann was the first woman ever signed to a four-year athletic scholarship to UCLA, where she led the Women's basketball team to their only National Championship in 1978. She was also a National Champion in Track & Field (both the pentathlon & high jump). To this day, she is the only four-time Bruin basketball All American, male or female. Ann was also the only woman ever asked to compete in ABC Sports' Superstars, a popular made for TV competition pitting elite athletes like Mark Spitz, Joe Frazier, O.J. Simpson and Mark Gastineau against one another in a series of ten different events. After dominating the women's competition three years in a row, Ann was invited to compete against the men.
After her athletic career Ann married Don Drysdale, legendary pitcher & announcer for the Los Angeles Dodgers, making them the first ever married couple enshrined in their respective sports' Halls of Fame. Today Ann continues to break through barriers. She is the only female Vice President in the NBA (she is VP of the Phoenix Suns), and is also the General Manager of the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury, which has won two WNBA Championships since she took over four years ago. The New York Times featured her prominently in a piece in August 2010 called "Pioneers Continue to Shepherd Women's Basketball" (http: //nyti.ms/dCm3Nz )
Ann has worked extensively as a broadcaster, as well. She covered the 2000, 2004, and 2008 Olympics for NBC and will be covering the 2012 Olympics for NBC. She also has an ongoing relationship with Fox, having just broadcast the Stanford vs. Cal Pac 10 men's basketball finals last month.
Joni Ravenna - co-writer:
Joni Ravenna has been the editor of the OC Woman Section of Parenting Magazine for the last six years. She also writes for Taste for Life Magazine and her work has been published in the LA Times, Esquire and Coast Magazine, among others
Ravenna is also a television writer/producer and a published, award-winning playwright. She wrote the 2007 PBS Pledge Specials "The Donovan Concert -Live at the Kodak," and 2009's "Latin Music Legends with Trini Lopez." Other writer credits include "The Aging of America with Lee Meriwether," "Judy Garland- Duets," "My Hong Kong with Nancy Kwan," "Earth Trek" and "Ticket to Adventure" for PBS, Outdoor Life, The Travel Channel and Fox Sports respectively. Her series "Great Sports Vacations" earned an ACE nomination in '93 and was at one time the highest rated show on The Travel Channel.
Over the years Ravenna has interviewed for print and/or television such film stars, authors and sports legends as Sean Connery, Deepak Chopra, Brad Pitt, Johnny Bench, Sidney Sheldon, Jenny McCarthy, Sissy Spacek, Marianne Williamson, Jim Brown, Willie McCovey, Willie Gault and Elgin Baylor.
