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You Let Some Girl Beat You?: The Story of Ann Meyers Drysdale
"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.
250 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2012
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March 6, 2025
Remember a few days ago when I noted that I might not read women exclusively this year? Perhaps I was a bit premature. Day 5, and I have only read women and I got myself inspired to stick to women authors after all. It’s not necessarily the fiction writing, but the stories behind the authors, or, in the case of nonfiction writers and memoirs, the writer’s life story. Anne Meyers Drysdale’s story hits a personal chord with me. I know her as a women’s basketball broadcaster during the 1990s when my school won state in basketball two years in a row and I was as obsessed with basketball during my teenage years as I was with baseball, I know, shocking. I did not know her as either a pioneering basketball player because she played before my time or as the wife of a hall of fame baseball player. Known as Annie to her family and close friends, Meyers Drysdale has been a trailblazer at every stop of her life. After her kids left for college and she cut down on some of her myriad responsibilities in life, Annie decided to tell her story. She hoped it would inspire younger women and girls to shoot for the stars as she played it forward for younger generations. That has been a theme throughout her life and the theme of women’s history month 2025. I could not leave this story out of my reading.
Born in 1955 as the middle children in a family with eleven children, Annie Meyers did not know the meaning of the word no. The father Robert pushed all of his children to play multiple sports, both the boys and the girls. Patricia, the matriarch, carted all the kids to their competitions, often reaching double digits in the course of a day. This was an era when few girls played team sports, or, if they did, it was on a boys’ team. The Olympics of the 1950s and ‘60s featured women as gymnasts and figure skaters, some track stars and swimmers, and golfers and tennis players. While athletes in these sports still had to train to be top athletes, they could still flaunt their feminism while doing so. Think of A League of Their Own during the 1940s. Women went to charm school, wore skirts on the baseball diamond, and the male owners of the league expected them to look pretty to attract male fans. Not so, Annie Meyers who wore whatever hand-me-downs were available in a family with eleven kids and felt more comfortable in jeans, short hair, and converse sneakers than flaunting her feminism. Her role model at the time was her brother David, who she always followed to the basketball court. David did not understand why his sister did not want to act like a girl, yet from his tutelage, he saw that she could beat most boys at any sport she played. It would be years before men, and many women, grew to accept women as team sports athletes on the same level as men; however, just as Annie graduated high school, a new law went into affect that changed the way women could play sports in the United States.
Signed in 1972 by President Nixon, Title IX proposed to fund academic institutions only if they treated men and women as equals. The law had been meant to promote academics, but sports became its calling card. Annie was one of the first beneficiaries of this law, becoming the first woman to receive a full athletic scholarship to UCLA. She starred at basketball, volleyball, and track, commencing a life where she was always among the first women to achieve something in sports. Today people can watch women’s basketball as easily as the men’s game, both collegiately and professionally. During the early days of Title IX, the women’s game was for the most part an afterthought. For one thing, there were not enough women with experience to coach at high levels in any sport, so many programs had male coaches. By the time Annie and her pioneering generation finished college, that would change, but it took nearly a decade and women’s sports falling under the NCAA umbrella to achieve that as well. I might have been a bit naïve, but even I did not know that 1976 was the inaugural year for women’s basketball in the Olympics; I had figured that the sport was in the games much longer than that. Annie was a member of that first team alongside memorable names in the sport who would go on to enjoy hall of fame careers as players or coaches. That team began to change peoples’ views of women as athletes, jump starting an early iteration of a women’s professional basketball league, which was sadly short lived due to financial trouble. Annie, of course, played during the first year, but on a matter of principle, would not play until the league paid her contract, which did not happen. Even though the first women’s basketball league was short lived, it lead to Annie having more professional and personal opportunities in her life.
From her contacts at UCLA, Annie Meyers became a pioneering basketball broadcaster, a job that has endured to this day. She rubbed noses with the likes of Chick Hearn and Keith Jackson, who deferred to her experience as a basketball player. The shutting down of the first women’s basketball league also enabled Annie to participate in a women’s Superstars event broadcast by ABC. This is where she met her husband Don Drysdale, of baseball fame, who happened to be broadcasting the event. Both were smitten; however there was a twenty year age gap, and Annie wasn’t sure personally or professionally at that point in her life. Don’s courtship of Annie would take six years. I recently read his biography and knew the story, but reading it from a woman’s perspective touched more on life choices that she would have to make in addition to chivalry, which the romantic in me enjoys as well. Yes, there was the twenty year age gap, and, yes, they were both celebrities, but both Don and Annie had to make life altering decisions in order to make the marriage work, relying on a village of family and friends to help them raise their three children and allow them to keep their high powered professions. In looking back, Annie realizes now that a lot of her professional decisions came at the expense of spending time with her children. She also knows that because of her role as sought after basketball broadcaster, that it allowed her family to travel to places and meet people that they otherwise would not have visited or encountered. In every life there should be a balance between work and family, and it is this generation who entered all facets of the workforce in the 1970s that paved the way for the rest of us to have this choice to make.
Today Annie Meyers Drysdale is a member of more hall of fames than seems possible. She had the merit to broadcast the 1996 women’s Olympic basketball team in Atlanta, which paved the way for the WNBA. Meyers Drysdale does not begrudge these pioneers in their own right but is honored that she can continue to watch the league grow as a broadcaster. All this time, she raised her children as a single mother, never remarrying after Don’s untimely death in 1993. Granted, she had both the funds and family to enable her to keep a long distance career and raise her kids, but she still had to go out there and get it done. When Annie began her career as a broadcaster, she noted that it was an old boys’ club, her husband included. Today it is commonplace to see women broadcasting women’s sports and some men’s events as well. There has also been the debate if a woman could coach a men’s team, and my argument is if you’re good, you’re good. Back in the 1990s, a Nike commercial featured men vs women playing street basketball on the blacktops of Philadelphia. The tag was “they might not be good enough to beat every guy, but they are good enough to say that basketball is basketball, and athletes are athletes.” Annie would attest and continues to encourage girls to go play sports because of all the teachable moments and life lessons that participation leads to. A pioneer and still an active basketball broadcaster, Annie Meyers Drysdale has lived a trailblazing life.
🏀 4 stars 🏀
Born in 1955 as the middle children in a family with eleven children, Annie Meyers did not know the meaning of the word no. The father Robert pushed all of his children to play multiple sports, both the boys and the girls. Patricia, the matriarch, carted all the kids to their competitions, often reaching double digits in the course of a day. This was an era when few girls played team sports, or, if they did, it was on a boys’ team. The Olympics of the 1950s and ‘60s featured women as gymnasts and figure skaters, some track stars and swimmers, and golfers and tennis players. While athletes in these sports still had to train to be top athletes, they could still flaunt their feminism while doing so. Think of A League of Their Own during the 1940s. Women went to charm school, wore skirts on the baseball diamond, and the male owners of the league expected them to look pretty to attract male fans. Not so, Annie Meyers who wore whatever hand-me-downs were available in a family with eleven kids and felt more comfortable in jeans, short hair, and converse sneakers than flaunting her feminism. Her role model at the time was her brother David, who she always followed to the basketball court. David did not understand why his sister did not want to act like a girl, yet from his tutelage, he saw that she could beat most boys at any sport she played. It would be years before men, and many women, grew to accept women as team sports athletes on the same level as men; however, just as Annie graduated high school, a new law went into affect that changed the way women could play sports in the United States.
Signed in 1972 by President Nixon, Title IX proposed to fund academic institutions only if they treated men and women as equals. The law had been meant to promote academics, but sports became its calling card. Annie was one of the first beneficiaries of this law, becoming the first woman to receive a full athletic scholarship to UCLA. She starred at basketball, volleyball, and track, commencing a life where she was always among the first women to achieve something in sports. Today people can watch women’s basketball as easily as the men’s game, both collegiately and professionally. During the early days of Title IX, the women’s game was for the most part an afterthought. For one thing, there were not enough women with experience to coach at high levels in any sport, so many programs had male coaches. By the time Annie and her pioneering generation finished college, that would change, but it took nearly a decade and women’s sports falling under the NCAA umbrella to achieve that as well. I might have been a bit naïve, but even I did not know that 1976 was the inaugural year for women’s basketball in the Olympics; I had figured that the sport was in the games much longer than that. Annie was a member of that first team alongside memorable names in the sport who would go on to enjoy hall of fame careers as players or coaches. That team began to change peoples’ views of women as athletes, jump starting an early iteration of a women’s professional basketball league, which was sadly short lived due to financial trouble. Annie, of course, played during the first year, but on a matter of principle, would not play until the league paid her contract, which did not happen. Even though the first women’s basketball league was short lived, it lead to Annie having more professional and personal opportunities in her life.
From her contacts at UCLA, Annie Meyers became a pioneering basketball broadcaster, a job that has endured to this day. She rubbed noses with the likes of Chick Hearn and Keith Jackson, who deferred to her experience as a basketball player. The shutting down of the first women’s basketball league also enabled Annie to participate in a women’s Superstars event broadcast by ABC. This is where she met her husband Don Drysdale, of baseball fame, who happened to be broadcasting the event. Both were smitten; however there was a twenty year age gap, and Annie wasn’t sure personally or professionally at that point in her life. Don’s courtship of Annie would take six years. I recently read his biography and knew the story, but reading it from a woman’s perspective touched more on life choices that she would have to make in addition to chivalry, which the romantic in me enjoys as well. Yes, there was the twenty year age gap, and, yes, they were both celebrities, but both Don and Annie had to make life altering decisions in order to make the marriage work, relying on a village of family and friends to help them raise their three children and allow them to keep their high powered professions. In looking back, Annie realizes now that a lot of her professional decisions came at the expense of spending time with her children. She also knows that because of her role as sought after basketball broadcaster, that it allowed her family to travel to places and meet people that they otherwise would not have visited or encountered. In every life there should be a balance between work and family, and it is this generation who entered all facets of the workforce in the 1970s that paved the way for the rest of us to have this choice to make.
Today Annie Meyers Drysdale is a member of more hall of fames than seems possible. She had the merit to broadcast the 1996 women’s Olympic basketball team in Atlanta, which paved the way for the WNBA. Meyers Drysdale does not begrudge these pioneers in their own right but is honored that she can continue to watch the league grow as a broadcaster. All this time, she raised her children as a single mother, never remarrying after Don’s untimely death in 1993. Granted, she had both the funds and family to enable her to keep a long distance career and raise her kids, but she still had to go out there and get it done. When Annie began her career as a broadcaster, she noted that it was an old boys’ club, her husband included. Today it is commonplace to see women broadcasting women’s sports and some men’s events as well. There has also been the debate if a woman could coach a men’s team, and my argument is if you’re good, you’re good. Back in the 1990s, a Nike commercial featured men vs women playing street basketball on the blacktops of Philadelphia. The tag was “they might not be good enough to beat every guy, but they are good enough to say that basketball is basketball, and athletes are athletes.” Annie would attest and continues to encourage girls to go play sports because of all the teachable moments and life lessons that participation leads to. A pioneer and still an active basketball broadcaster, Annie Meyers Drysdale has lived a trailblazing life.
🏀 4 stars 🏀
September 4, 2017
This is an autobiography of Ann Meyers Drysdale, who accomplished a lot of "firsts" in not only women's basketball, but basketball in general. Her love for the game and for all sports, came through. Before picking this up, I wasn't familiar with who she was and what her long list of accomplishments were. For that alone, this was worth the read.
I listened to the audio. I didn't care for the narrator as much. At the end of the narration, there is an interview with Ann, and I somehow wish that that had been the story I read. She seemed genuine and spoke with such passion and compassion. Those things felt left out in the telling of the her story as it was put on a page. I wish the person who helped her with this memoir hadn't been so clinical about it all. But still, 3 stars. Hooray for Ann and for the ways she opened the door a little wider for women to excel in sports.
I listened to the audio. I didn't care for the narrator as much. At the end of the narration, there is an interview with Ann, and I somehow wish that that had been the story I read. She seemed genuine and spoke with such passion and compassion. Those things felt left out in the telling of the her story as it was put on a page. I wish the person who helped her with this memoir hadn't been so clinical about it all. But still, 3 stars. Hooray for Ann and for the ways she opened the door a little wider for women to excel in sports.
January 5, 2013
I really enjoyed this autobiography, although it could have benefitted from some more thorough editing (homonyms will kill the flow of a paragraph for me EVERY TIME). It jumped around at first, but by the time you reach the end of the book you realize that even through all of the tragedies, highs and lows, the try-out with the Pacers was the singular most impactful turning point in Drysdale's life, and that's why it was presented first.
I would have liked to hear more how she reconciled the conflict between promoting women's sports as the pinnacle to strive for and her overarching dream to always be competing against the boys because they were the best. It's a true feminist conundrum and although it comes up frequently for athletes of Drysdale's incredible calibre, a truly thorough exploration seems out of reach.
I would have liked to hear more how she reconciled the conflict between promoting women's sports as the pinnacle to strive for and her overarching dream to always be competing against the boys because they were the best. It's a true feminist conundrum and although it comes up frequently for athletes of Drysdale's incredible calibre, a truly thorough exploration seems out of reach.
December 31, 2021
You let some girl beat you? By Ann Myers Drysdale with Joni Ravenna.
The cover of the book has a head shot of Ann smiling while holding a basketball. There is an image in the lower left corner of Ann with basketball practice clothes on while holding a basketball with a taller man standing behind her also with a basketball.
This too is another book I read several months ago. The story of Ann in this book gives a look into her mindset as a player and lady earning a living by playing basketball. The heading does portray what the main idea is all about; you, a man, just got beat by a girl. The story explains how talented she was for the UCLA women’s basketball team and how that pushed her to play for the WNBA. She likes challenges and had an opportunity to once again prove she can compete with men and beat them through NBA tryouts.
The cover of the book has a head shot of Ann smiling while holding a basketball. There is an image in the lower left corner of Ann with basketball practice clothes on while holding a basketball with a taller man standing behind her also with a basketball.
This too is another book I read several months ago. The story of Ann in this book gives a look into her mindset as a player and lady earning a living by playing basketball. The heading does portray what the main idea is all about; you, a man, just got beat by a girl. The story explains how talented she was for the UCLA women’s basketball team and how that pushed her to play for the WNBA. She likes challenges and had an opportunity to once again prove she can compete with men and beat them through NBA tryouts.
January 15, 2013
Very heartwarming book for any female who was/is an athlete fighting adversity and the goal to be better. Especially important to younger girls. My daughter is in 8th grade and a basketball player and I've encouraged her to read this book. My daughter likes to play with the boys to improve her game but even though it's more acceptable in this day and age once you hit jr high there is still that "air" about girls who take their sports so seriously. Ann clearly shows how important that attitude is for not only winning on the court but succeeding in life. Great, easy, quick read if you are seriously interested in this subject
June 16, 2018
It was well written, easy to understand and held my attention (which is saying a lot because I am about as anti-sports as anyone gets). She had an interesting life story but wasn't obnoxious or boastful or unable to have anything beyond basketball for herself. This book made me want to have the author as a friend and I was very impressed with her ability to make things happen in her life instead of just waiting for things to happen.
June 20, 2012
A good book on the history of women's basketball
June 30, 2012
I hadn't realized until picking this up what a trailblazer Meyers Drysdale really was.
March 21, 2020
This book is a must read for all young people to show that what we believe is what we can do.
January 23, 2022
Full disclosure: I had the pleasure of spending some time with Annie before reading her book. While that experience helped me better understand her important role in the history of women's sports, I think anyone can appreciate her story.
She tore down walls and broke barriers, but she also struggled with being a widowed working mom. This memoir gives you a glimpse into both sides of her life in a way that brought a tear to my eye.
She tore down walls and broke barriers, but she also struggled with being a widowed working mom. This memoir gives you a glimpse into both sides of her life in a way that brought a tear to my eye.
October 19, 2014
My husband Dan and I started listening to this audiobook back in March while driving to and from the WCC women's basketball tournament in Las Vegas. We listened to a little more in July on a shorter road trip, and we finished it yesterday on another shorter road trip. Big fans of women's basketball, we enjoyed this autobiography a lot!
Ann Meyers talks about the history of women's basketball, including her role in its development, and also frankly outlines some of what still needs to be done to eliminate discrimination against female athletes. She also talks about her personal life, including her family of origin, her love for her husband Don Drysdale and their children, the difficulties in dealing with Don's death, and her admiration for Coach John Wooden. The book is well written and personable.
Ann Meyers talks about the history of women's basketball, including her role in its development, and also frankly outlines some of what still needs to be done to eliminate discrimination against female athletes. She also talks about her personal life, including her family of origin, her love for her husband Don Drysdale and their children, the difficulties in dealing with Don's death, and her admiration for Coach John Wooden. The book is well written and personable.
December 9, 2015
I listened to this on CD. It wasn't read by the author but there was an interview with her at the end of the recording. I really enjoyed finding out about Ann Meyers Drysdale because while I may have seen her before, I didn't know it. I don't recall ever hearing about her although she was making her mark on the world when I was growing up (she still is making her mark on the world but it's not as widely publicized now). I love that although she is credited with a lot of "firsts" she is quick to point out that a lot of people went before her to open the doors that she went through. After reading her account, I'm even more grateful for the people who went before me to open doors that I take for granted - and never fully realized were closed previously.
September 20, 2012
Readers looking for a feel-good book about how Annie Meyers Drysdale refused to give up on her dreams of being a professional basketball player and breaking the glass ceiling of gender bias and discrimination, then look no further. Married to Dodger baseball great, Don Drysdale, Annie was a member of the first women's Olympic basketball team, and won a Silver Medal, before going on to playing professional women's basketball and eventually becoming one of the first women sports commentators.
A must read for today's young high schooler/college student, and for anyone who had a dream.
http://behlerpublications.com/titles-...
A must read for today's young high schooler/college student, and for anyone who had a dream.
http://behlerpublications.com/titles-...
November 13, 2012
5 stars for the content and telling this story. Ann is an AMAZING woman and an inspiration for anybody who's ever been told "you can't do that," particularly a girl. Her romance with and eventual marriage to Don Drysdale reads like the Who's Who of sports and broadcasting. She has really done something with her life and is not shy about acknowledging all of the people who helped her get there, from her family, to coaches to mentor broadcasters. Very moving, motivating story. Loved it!
May 24, 2013
I thoroughly enjoyed this autobiography. Of course, I was a huge Ann Meyers fan growing up. But, I think reading the back stories of events that I remember was what made this book particularly fascinating.
The book doesn't have any spectacular message... But it is a story of resiliency, competitiveness, drive, and love.
The book doesn't have any spectacular message... But it is a story of resiliency, competitiveness, drive, and love.
August 11, 2012
I was captivated by the life story of this amazing athlete, and pioneer of the current era of womens basketball. The same mind set that made her a winner in so many athletic areas has helped her to be a winner in the battles she faced off the court.
September 7, 2015
in 1979 I was eight years old when Myers tried out for the Pacers. my love of basketball was just starting to burn. I loved reading this book. a true icon, grateful to have had her insights.
September 2, 2012
Interesting topic, but not the best autobiography.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews