AAU Alumna Ann Meyers Drysdale – A Pioneer for Women’s Basketball
04/19/2023
Ann Meyers Drysdale is one of the greatest female basketball players ever. She won an AAU National Championship in 1977 and changed the game for women’s basketball forever
Introduction by: Troy MacNeill
Original Article as posted on GQ Sports
Ann Meyers Drysdale won the 1977 AAU Women's Basketball National Championship
Women’s Basketball is bigger than it has ever been and Ann Meyers Drysdale is a major reason why. Ann Meyers Drysdale established herself as one of the greatest female hoopers to ever play. She broke records and barriers along the way.
In 1976, she started on the first women’s Olympic Basketball team after being the first high school girls’ basketball player selected for a U.S. National Team. She was the first woman to receive a full athletic scholarship to UCLA, she then brought the team to an AIAW National Championship as a senior and graduated while holding 12 school records in basketball. Ann Meyers Drysdale was the first player drafted by the Women’s Basketball League (WBL). She went on to lead the league in scoring as a rookie.
Ann Meyers Drysdale was dominant. So dominant that she was the first, and ONLY, woman to be signed to a contract with the National Basketball Association (NBA). In the 1979-1980 season she signed a free agent deal with the Indiana Pacers. It was another feather in the cap for one of the greatest to ever play. Her accolades led her to being among the first women inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.
And she was a product of the Amateur Athletic Union. In 1977, “Annie” Meyers (as she was known then), was one of the main players on the AAU Women’s Basketball National Champion team. She was a junior at UCLA at the time and helped lead the team to the AAU National Championship. The team is forever remembered as they are showcased at the AAU Exhibit at the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in Nashville, Tennessee.
Click here to read more about the AAU Exhibit at the WBHOF.
Read about how Ann Meyers Drysdale became one of the best to ever play in her interview with Alan Chazaro of GQ Sports. Click here to read the full article.
Original Article as posted on GQ Sports
Ann Meyers Drysdale won the 1977 AAU Women's Basketball National Championship
Women’s Basketball is bigger than it has ever been and Ann Meyers Drysdale is a major reason why. Ann Meyers Drysdale established herself as one of the greatest female hoopers to ever play. She broke records and barriers along the way.
In 1976, she started on the first women’s Olympic Basketball team after being the first high school girls’ basketball player selected for a U.S. National Team. She was the first woman to receive a full athletic scholarship to UCLA, she then brought the team to an AIAW National Championship as a senior and graduated while holding 12 school records in basketball. Ann Meyers Drysdale was the first player drafted by the Women’s Basketball League (WBL). She went on to lead the league in scoring as a rookie.
Ann Meyers Drysdale was dominant. So dominant that she was the first, and ONLY, woman to be signed to a contract with the National Basketball Association (NBA). In the 1979-1980 season she signed a free agent deal with the Indiana Pacers. It was another feather in the cap for one of the greatest to ever play. Her accolades led her to being among the first women inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.
And she was a product of the Amateur Athletic Union. In 1977, “Annie” Meyers (as she was known then), was one of the main players on the AAU Women’s Basketball National Champion team. She was a junior at UCLA at the time and helped lead the team to the AAU National Championship. The team is forever remembered as they are showcased at the AAU Exhibit at the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in Nashville, Tennessee.
Click here to read more about the AAU Exhibit at the WBHOF.
Read about how Ann Meyers Drysdale became one of the best to ever play in her interview with Alan Chazaro of GQ Sports. Click here to read the full article.
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