Ann Meyers established a lot of firsts in her legendary basketball career. She was the first high school player to make any U.S. national teamthe first woman to receive a UCLA basketball scholarship  the first NCAA Division I player to record aquadruple-double the firstfour-time All-American and the first woman inducted into the UCLA Hall of Fame and to have her number (15) retired. She was the College Player of the Year in 1978leading UCLA to the National Title. She won a silvermedal with the U.S. Olympic team at the 1976 Montreal Games. She was the first playerdrafted to the Women's Professional Basketball League (WBL) a precursor totoday's WNBA. But before she played her first game for the WBL's New Jersey Gems the All-American and legendary Lady Bruin did something even more special to put herself on a pedestal as one of the true pioneers of women's athletics and gender equality.

On September 5 1979 at the age of 24 Ann Meyers signed a $50000 contract with the Indiana Pacers and stepped onto the court at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis for a historic three-day NBA tryout. (Fittingly Hinkle is where the classic movie Hoosiers would film its final scene.) In the process Meyers became the first woman ever to sign an NBA contract and get a legitimate tryout. It was a few days before the Pacers' mini-camp and the 5-foot-9 guard went up against the Pacers’ top rookies and other NBA hopefuls. This lot presents the Indiana Pacers jersey that she received and wore during that 3-day tryout. A truly important moment in sports history!

“Physically emotionally mentally it was the best I wasever prepared to play the game of basketball” Meyers recalls. The otherplayers on the court were less prepared to play against her. In herautobiography Meyers remembers facing Pacers guard John Kuester (future Pistons coach) in a one-on-one drill. “[We] collided and Iwent down. I was fine but John’s natural instinct was to worry thathe’d hurt me. He bent down next to me. ‘Are you OK Annie?’” See the play at the 1:20 mark in the video below.

Five or six men were cut and Meyers remained. But ultimately head coach Slick Leonard did not give her a roster spot. "I cut her just like any other player" said Leonard. Meyers did get a nice compliment from assistant coach Jack McCloskey who said "Fundamentally she’s better than half the guys out there." Meyers still considers the decision to tryout "the best decision of my life." It fulfilled the one nagging regret she had held inside her entire life:the time she turned down a chance to play on the Boys Varsity team in high school. She had grown up playing against boys in particular her five brothers. Older brother Dave Meyers preceded her at UCLA and was the No. 2 pick in the 1975 NBA draft. The summer before her senior year Meyers played with members of the boys’ team and thought that would continue during the school year. But ultimately she was talked out of it.

In the end the Pacers contract and tryout (and new celebrity status a la Billy Jean King) while costing her future Olympic eligibility opened many more doors for Meyers as a WNBA front office member broadcaster and got her on ABC's hit show Superstars where she met her future husband Hall of Fame pitcher Don Drysdale. She is one of the main broadcasters for USA Women's Basketball at the 2016 Rio Olympics and remains a key ambassador for the game.

The road blue jersey has "INDIANA" heat-pressed across the front in Pacer gold outlined in white with her No. "15" front and back in gold. "MEYERS" in gold letters is pressed into the upper back over a previous player's name which appears to be Dudley Bradley who played two seasons for the Pacers 1979-81. Apparently his name was removed and "MEYERS" was added to the back. White and gold trim adorns the sides with a similar elastic knit pattern around the arms and collar. Medalist Sand-Knit manufacturer's tagging appears on the front left tail with "SIZE 46" and washing instructions. The shirt shows moderate wear with some minor fading to the gold numbers on the front and some green staining (from laundry perhaps) on the front letters.

LOA from Ann Meyers Drysdale.