Born: January 31, 1947

Refugio, Texas

Lynn Nolan Ryan Jr. was born January 31, 1947, in Refugio, Texas.  He was the youngest of six children of Lynn Nolan Ryan Sr. and Martha Ryan.  Ryan grew up in Alvin, Texas, where his father worded for an oil company and delivered papers for the Houston Post.

Nolan Ryan was inducted into baseball Hall of Fame in 1999.  He pitched for the New York Mets, California Angels, Houston Astros, and Texas Rangers.  Nolan Ryan also threw a Major League record seven no-hitters.  He is also the all-time MLB strikeout king with 5,714 strikeouts.

“On May 1, 1991, at 44 years old, he became the oldest pitcher to throw a no-hitter when he beat the Toronto Blue jays, 3-0. This was his major-league record 7^th no-hitter.”  He was still throwing fastballs at 100.08 mph, which made him the first major league pitcher ever to be clocked at over 100mph.

Nolan Ryan was traded by the Mets along with pitcher Don Rose, outfielder Leroy Stanton and catcher Francisco Estrada to the California Angels on December 10, 1971 for infielder Jim Fregosi in what is generally regarded as the worst and most disastrous trade in Met history.