Steinberg, Peirsol, Meyers Drysdale among honorees at OC Sports Awards
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Ann Meyers Drysdale sat on a couch in the Diamond Club Lounge at Angel Stadium on Thursday evening, catching up with good friend Cheryl Miller and proving that sports stars from UCLA and USC can co-exist.
That’s written in jest — in reality, Meyers Drysdale and Miller are extremely close. Both are known as class acts who have contributed much to the sports of basketball. Miller, a former Trojan great, introduced the former Bruin Meyers Drysdale at the second annual OC Sports Awards.
Meyers Drysdale, a Huntington Beach resident, was introduced by Miller prior to receiving the Legacy Award. A vice president for the Phoenix Mercury of the WNBA and Phoenix Suns of the NBA, she made a quick trip to Orange County for the awards, sandwiched between home games for the Mercury on Wednesday and Friday.
The sixth oldest of 11 children, Meyers Drysdale said her late brother Dave also got inducted into the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame in Michigan on Thursday night, but she was unable to attend that ceremony.
Meyers Drysdale, a longtime broadcaster, once signed a contract with the Indiana Pacers in 1979, the team where Miller’s younger brother, Reggie Miller, would star decades later. She said she was surprised to have Cheryl Miller, who she called her tall little sister, present for her on Thursday night.
Meyers Drysdale, 71, grew up in La Habra. She said it was pretty special to be part of the OC Sports Awards. She was able to revel recently in the first NCAA women’s basketball title for her alma mater, UCLA.
In 1978, Meyers Drysdale was part of the UCLA team that won the AIAW national championship in the pre-NCAA era for women’s basketball.
“[Coach] Cori Close has done such a great job,” Meyers Drysdale said. “She was such a student of Coach [John] Wooden, and they were very close. She’s been there 15, 16 years now ... There was such joy on this team. They didn’t care who was scoring, they didn’t care about stats. They just cared about winning and they had fun playing, and I think it really showed.”
Other locals also earned top awards at the OC Sports Awards. Newport Beach sports agent Leigh Steinberg earned the Lifetime Achievement Award, and Newport Harbor High graduate and five-time Olympic swimming gold medalist Aaron Peirsol was honored with the Icon Award.
Steinberg, 77, has represented more than 300 professional athletes and negotiated more than $4 billion in contracts during his long and storied career as a sport agent. He has represented eight No. 1 overall NFL draft picks and 12 Hall of Famers.
“As someone who rooted for the Angels since they came to Southern California in 1961, I couldn’t imagine a greater place to accept an award,” Steinberg said during his speech. “I was raised by a father with two core values outside of spiritual ones. One was to treasure relationships, especially family, and the second was to try to make a meaningful difference in the world, help heal pain and help people who can’t help themselves.”
He has stressed to his athletes the importance of giving back to their communities and establishing charitable organizations.
“We had Lennox Lewis, the heavyweight champion, cut a public service announcement that said, ‘Real men don’t hit women,’” Steinberg said. “That could do more to trigger behavioral change in rebellious adolescents than a ton of authority figures ever could.”
Peirsol, now 42, is widely regarded as one of the greatest backstroke swimmers in history. He has been living in Hawaii in recent years, and has been known as an advocate for ocean conservation.
His presenter also had a special connection, as it was April Ross, an Olympic gold medal-winning beach volleyball player. Ross graduated from Newport Harbor in 2000, two years before Peirsol.
“I’m doing clinical counseling psychology and working on boats,” Peirsol said of his current jobs. “I’m around the swimming thing peripherally.”
He still holds the record in the 200-meter backstroke, a time of 1:51.92 that was set at the FINA World Championships in Italy in 2009.
“I don’t know what to think about that — what do you say,” Peirsol said. “You know, I hope [the records] get broken, I really do. But I’m very proud to still hold them. I’m very proud looking back at my career.”
Among the other award winners, Natalie Nakase was named Coach of the Year. Nakase, who coaches the Golden State Valkyries of the WNBA, grew up in Huntington Beach and graduated from Marina High.
“This is not about me — it’s about my staff, it’s about our organization,” Nakase said humbly in a recorded acceptance speech shown on the scoreboard at Angel Stadium. “I’m not doing anything alone. I have a brilliant staff, I have a brilliant organization, and my players are super-coachable.”
Makena Cook of Orange Lutheran girls’ flag football and Acen Jimenez of La Habra boys’ basketball won Female and Male High School Athletes of the Year honors, respectively. The Female and Male College Athletes of the Year both came from UC Irvine basketball, Hunter Hernandez and Kyle Evans, while Ashlyn Gwynn of Cal State Fullerton women’s soccer earned the Rising Star award.
Radio personality Travis Rodgers served as emcee of the OC Sports Awards, which were put on by the Orange County Sports Commission.
