Ann Meyers Drysdale

Between Nurses Foundation is very pleased to welcome Ann as a supporter of the mission and vision that this organization has for registered nurses and regards her as a great inspiration for our membership.   

Ann is currently Vice President & Broadcaster of the NBA Phoenix Suns and WNBA Phoenix Mercury. She was part of the Mercury’s success in winning 3 WNBA Titles. Ann has a long history of success and striving for greatness. Having spent almost 45 years in broadcasting, she has broadcasted in six Olympic Games, worked for NBC, ABC, CBS, ESPN, and several other outlets broadcasting Men’s & Women’s Championships, NCAA Tournaments, Volleyball, Softball, and other sports.

Ann’s greatest win was being married to the late baseball Hall of Fame Dodgers’ pitcher Don Drysdale, and in that union, they had 3 children, sons Don Jr & Darren, and daughter Drew.

She sets a great example of how a female can be successful in any field of endeavor. In her life she has achieved many ‘Firsts’. In high school, she competed in 7 sports, and in college at UCLA, she competed in 3 sports: Volleyball, Basketball & Track, winning championships in Basketball and Track. She holds 12 of 13 Basketball Records at UCLA. 

She was the first woman to receive a full athletic scholarship in basketball. In the 1976 Olympics, Ann led the first Women’s Basketball Team to achieve the Silver medal and went on to win Gold on several USA Teams. As USA Captain of the 1979 World Championship Team, she led the team to win the Gold medal. She also had the honor of being the Flag-bearer in the Opening Ceremonies at the 1979 Pan Am Games.  

As the first draft pick of the first Women’s Professional Basketball League (WPBL), she became the MVP of the League. She was the first and only woman to have a ‘try-out’ in the NBA with the Indiana Pacers. She was the first woman to be inducted into the UCLA Hall of Fame, the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) Hall of Fame, and the Women’s Sports Foundation Hall of Fame. All in all, she has been inducted into almost 20 Halls of Fame, including the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, and Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame. 

She also competed in the Women’s Super Stars event and won three times. This competition features 10 top athletes from 10 different sports competing in events that were not their own field. Ann broke the barrier as the only woman to compete in the Men’s Super Stars Competition.

With these accomplishments it’s only fitting that she was inspired, and encouraged by others to write a book chronicling her prowess, titled: “You Let Some Girl Beat You?”