Any hoops fan worth his salt would know that no female has ever played in the National Basketball Association since the league?s inception in 1946.

Unknown to many, though, is the fact that one woman was once signed to a player contract by an NBA club.

On August 30, 1979, history was made when the Indiana Pacers signed Ann Meyers to a one-year guaranteed contract worth $50,000, helping the four-time Al-American from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) to become the first (and only) woman player ever to ink an NBA contract.

A 5-9, 140-point guard, Meyers was not drafted by any NBA club after completing her collegiate eligibility in 1979.

Meyers, who in 1974 became the first high school athlete (from Sonora High School in La Habra, California) to suit up for the U.S. national squad, was a four-year athletic scholarship player for the UCLA Bruins women?s basketball team from 1975-76 to 1978-79.

Meyers received a lot of journalistic ink for the historic NBA signing. However, she failed to survive the Pacers? three-day rookie-free agent tryout camp and was eventually cut from the team after two days.

Meyers, who was 24 years old at the time, nonetheless bankrolled $50,000 as her contract guaranteed her a front-office job with the Pacers even if she failed to earn a roster spot. She wound up working for the Pacers in the club?s public relations department.

There were insinuations that the Meyers signing was merely a publicity stunt to boost ticket sales, owing to the fact that Sam Nassi, then the new Pacers team owner who handled the contract negotiations with Meyers, had a reputation as a man with a promotional flair.

Nassi, though, insisted that Meyers owned NBA skills and her accurate outside shooting could be helpful to the team as the NBA was introducing the three-point shot rule that season (1979-80).

?If I didn?t think I could compete with men, I wouldn?t try it signing with Indiana,? said Ann, the younger sister of former UCLA and Milwaukee Bucks forward Dave Meyers. ?I think my skills are equal to those of some NBA players.?

The blue-eyed Ann posted averages of 17.4 points, 8.4 rebounds and 5.6 assists a game with the Bruins.

By signing a contract with the Pacers, Meyers lost her amateur status and was no longer eligible for international competitions thereafter. (Beginning in 1990, professionals have been allowed by the FIBA to participate in international tournaments under the ?open basketball? policy.)

Until now, there?s no rule in the NBA that prohibits a woman from signing a playing contract with any of the league?s member clubs.

At age 31, Meyers married all-time Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher great Don Drysdale, a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame, on November 1, 1986.

Ann herself was enshrined into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on May 10, 1993 as the first woman inductee. It marked the first time that a married couple were members of their respective sports? Halls of Fame.

She was widowed on July 3, 1993 when Drysdale died of a heart attack in Montreal, Canada.

The 55-year-old Meyers, who also became a color commentator for the NBA at a time (late 1970s) when there were only a few women in sportscasting, currently serves as the president and general manager for the WNBA?s Phoenix Mercury and vice president of the NBA?s Phoenix Suns.