|  | Use the menu below to read our biographies of the century's greatest sportswomenand then who you think should be No. 1. Also, be sure to check out our and which is on newsstands now. 1955-
First woman to sign a contract with a men's NBA team She may not have set out to be a groundbreaker, but the pioneering Ann Meyers is credited with a great many "firsts" in athletic achievement. Among them: first high school basketball player to make the U.S. women's basketball team, member of the first women's Olympic basketball team, first basketball player (male or female) named to four All-America teams and first woman to sign a contract with a men's NBA team.An Orange County, Calif. native, Meyers grew up as the sixth child in a family of 11 kids. She excelled at sports from an early age and during her years at Sonora High earned varsity letters in seven sports: field hockey, badminton, tennis, softball, volleyball, track and field, and basketball. It was the last sport on this list in which Meyers would make her name. In 1974, while a high school senior, Meyers became the first prep player to make the U.S. basketball team. After winning a silver medal with the squad at the 1976 Montreal Olympics, Meyers went to UCLA as the school's first female recipient of a full athletic scholarship. In each of her four seasons, the 5' 9" guard/forward led the Bruins in rebounding, assists, steals and blocked shots and became the only player (male or female) in school history to record a quadruple-double (20 points, 14 rebounds, 10 assists and 10 steals). Meyers led the Bruins to a national championship in 1978. Later that year, she inked a $50,000 deal and got a three-day tryout with the NBA's Indiana Pacers. She didn't make the roster, but the following year she was the first player taken in the Women's Professional Basketball League draft. At the end of her first and only WBL season in 1979-80, Meyers was named the league's first MVP. After the WBL folded, Meyers began taking more and more assignments as a television and radio broadcaster, primarily doing color commentary and play-by-play for men's and women's college basketball games on CBS. During this time Meyers participated in the televised "Superstars" competition, during which she met famed Dodgers pitcher Don Drysdale. In 1986, Meyers and Drysdale were married. Over the next several years the couple had three children: Don Jr., Darren and Drew Ann. In 1993 Meyers became the first woman inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass. Just two months after this great honor, however, Don Drysdale died of a sudden heart attack. In the years since her husband's death, Meyers has worked as a broadcaster for all three major networks, but is most visible these days on ESPN, where she is a frequent contributor to the cable sports network's basketball coverage. They Said It: "In the past, girls didn't grow up playing basketball. Now they can."--Meyers --Jamie MacDonald Athletes were selected by Sports Illustrated For Women, Sports Illustrated and CNN/SI editors, writers and correspondents who considered the athletes' on-field performance and achievements, plus their contributions to women's sports. Because athletic achievement was a key criterion, women whose contributions were made solely in administration and coaching are not included.
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