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Nolan Ryan memories 07/25/99 Here are some of your favorite memories of The Express.
Reid Ryan's favorite memory
Our freebie seats were fantastic, close to the plate, just up the third base line. Nolan was throwing aspirin, as usual, and his curve ball was a knee-buckling wonder. It wasn't just a no-hitter, it was a performance for the ages. The crowd exploded as the last out was recorded. Arlington stadium rocked.
The next day, I asked my buddy for the extra ticket that we weren't able to
sell to keep as a souvenir. My jaw dropped when he told me that he'd thrown
it away after the game! At least I have my own ticket stub, which is
displayed in my office. But I still have my doubts about the co-worker.
In 1991, on May 1, I was in Dallas on business. I worked for an ad agency out of Houston at the time and we were shooting an Exxon commercial in Dallas. The director for the commercial had tickets to the game that night. Texas was playing host to Toronto. I didn't think much about it until around 5:30 p.m. when the day's shoot was wrapped up. I asked casually if the tickets were still available. "Yes, they are and they're great seats. Right behind home plate," the director said. So off we headed for Arlington Stadium. I had never been there before and somehow I ended up driving about 30 miles in the wrong direction before I realized we needed to backtrack. By the time my friend and I arrived, it was the third inning already. But the seats were dynamite. It turns out that my friend had never been to any baseball game on any professional level. After about 10 minutes, I realized that the people seated directly in front of us were Nolan Ryan's wife and Bobby Valentine's wife. Bobby was the Rangers manager at the time.
I kind of halfheartedly listened to them talk and Nolan's wife kept saying
things like, "I am starting to get nervous." This continued for about two more
innings, and I was kind of
curious ... when all of a sudden I looked at the scoreboard and realized that
Nolan had a no-hitter going. Well, by the time the last pitch was
thrown, Mrs. Ryan and Mrs. Valentine were beside themselves, as was the entire crowd. I have never
ever seen that many
people go so ballistic as they did throughout the top of
the ninth inning. It was as though the collective force of so many people
actually had willed the event playing itself out before us.
I went to a game in 1990 and the Rangers were hosting the Kansas City Royals. Nolan was on the mound and Bo Jackson was at the plate (first or second plate appearance), and he hit a liner up the middle that bounced and hit Nolan in the mouth. Nolan continued to pitch with blood streaming from his mouth, smearing it on his left shoulder every time he wiped his mouth on his shirt. It was an awesome sight to see this huge man continue
to pitch with blood running from his mouth. When Bo came to the plate for
his next at-bat it didn't take long to see Nolan was going to give it his
all to strike out the great Bo Jackson to settle the previous accident. I
forget the count but all I can remember is that the moment before striking
out Bo you could hear Nolan grunt louder during the pitch than any other
pitch that night.
I was living in Houston at the time. My brother, Peter, was in the Marines. He got a long weekend leave and wanted to see some baseball. We went to the Astros-Dodgers game on Friday night, Sept. 25, 1981, and the Astros got absolutely killed by some ridiculous run margin. The next day they were playing again in the afternoon. I told Peter, "I really don't want to go see the Astros get killed again." He argued with me saying, "Come on. Nolan Ryan is pitching!" I reluctantly agreed. That was the day Nolan Ryan pitched
his fifth no-hitter and beat the Dodgers 5-0. I have never felt such
electricity in a ballpark as I did that day. To this day my brother
never lets me forget that he had to drag me to that one!
My greatest memory of Nolan Ryan is how he stood as a role model for all
athletes. His manner, attitude, love for his family and competitiveness. Probably the most important lesson he taught us is the work
ethic! He worked harder than any athlete I have ever known to get
better at his sport. This is a trait that a lot of athletes, as well as
non-athletes, have failed to realize today. The overall work ethic that
will help you reach your goals! I also enjoyed the spanking he put on
Robin Ventura of the White Sox.
Well, we were all stunned, but not nearly as stunned to see the old man take Ventura, put him in a headlock and
wail on his head. It was amazing! Nolan must have gotten in 10 good shots
before the benches cleared and the guys (I believe it was Frank Thomas)
broke it up, but man, was it impressive to see. To this day, Ventura is one of my least favorite players. As for Nolan, it's just another small piece of the legend.
The Day I Realized I Was a Sports Widow: I was five months pregnant with my first child when my husband and I went to check on his parents home while they were out of the country. It was a very large house, but, as was the custom, a certain door was always unlocked. And with a large German Shepherd named "Fritz," that was infamous for biting, this was considered a safe practice. After checking the back door and finding it locked, Tom jumped the fence and went around to the unlocked door. About that time, Rosalie, a younger sister, heard our knocks and came to let us in. Fritz came out of the back door and latched onto my right thigh. Scared and shaken, I phoned my physician, and he told me to proceed to Medical City Hospital. To my horror and my squeamish husband's relief, the staff refused to let my husband accompany me into the exam room. The bite was cleaned, and a stitch and a tetanus shot later, I hobbled to the waiting room where I would finally be reunited with my husband, believing he would be terribly worried about me and the baby. So, when I walked out into the waiting room, Tom jumped up and, with a look of joy I had never seen before, threw his arms around me and announced, "Nolan Ryan hit a home run!" "What?!" I demanded, not believing what he had just said, more out of outrage for not realizing how distraught I was than anything. Then he made matters worse by explaining to me that Ryan was a pitcher, implying that I was the one who was in the dark about the situation. As
I looked around the waiting room, it was filled with fathers,
husbands,
etc., and all were transfixed by the replay. I knew any further
discussion was pointless. This was real life. The honeymoon was
over. Yes, this was when I realized what marriage and being a mom was all
about. Several years later, my brother called asking if he could take my
second
son to the ballgame for a birthday present (John's birthday was May
5th)
since Nolan was pitching. My brother always needed an excuse for
taking the kids or himself to the game. I decided this was not a
good idea since it was a school night. Of course, this was the night of
the seventh no hitter. I will always remember Nolan Ryan, and my children
will never let me forget!
One day, Brandon spread a copy of The Dallas Morning News sports page on the living room floor and, after several minutes of calculating, circled a date in red. "This is the date, Mom! I just know it is! Can you please buy tickets?" We have a large family and money was very short at the time. Even so, I scraped the money together and purchased six tickets the next day. As the date of the game drew closer, it looked more and more like Brandon
had hit the target. Sure enough, we were part of the screaming crowd the
night that Nolan hit 5,000! It was a wonderful experience and a memory
we'll always cherish.
When Nolan Ryan taught Robin Ventura, "DON'T MESS WITH TEXAS!"
By far, the best Nolan Ryan moment of all time was when he jacked the jaw of one Robin Ventura several times. That was a moment I was privileged to see in person from the bleachers at old Arlington Stadium. I kept my ticket stub from that game because you just knew that would be one of the most famous and defining moments in his career.
A native Texan, I found myself living in Chicago at the time Nolan Ryan
was going to pitch against the Brewers in Milwaukee's County Stadium for
his 300th victory. I quickly made plans to attend this historic game and invited a good friend to go as well. He was not a baseball fan and
had no idea who Nolan Ryan was. I tried the best I could to explain the
significance of what might occur, and he agreed to go along simply to
enjoy an outing. As the game progressed, with Nolan seemingly gaining
strength on every pitch, it became apparent that he would be the master
of this game and would have his 300th career victory. Seeing this
performance, my friend observed, "Hey, that fellow can throw pretty
good!" Surely one of the great understatements of all time.
My favorite memory of Nolan Ryan is not even baseball-related. In the early '90s, I read a small item in The Dallas Morning News that stated that Mr. Ryan had gone to a local emergency room the previous night because of chest pain. He hadn't even told his wife, just got up and went by himself. Fortunately, it wasn't a heart problem. What a thoughtful man! To me that typifies his entire career: capable, yet humble and unassuming.
Mother and baby recovered, and we attended Nick's first Rangers game on May 27, 1990 - Camera Day. We had our spot along the rope, me holding Nick, who was dressed in a a diminutive Rangers outfit with Ryan's name and No. 34 posted conspicuously on the back. Some Rangers players noticed Nick and remarked regarding Ryan's "shrinkage." I alluded it to an unexpected effect of the back spasms that Ryan had been fighting at the time. Later, Charlie Hough, Pete Incaviglia, coach Dave Oliver and Ryan came by in another group. Charlie and Pete spotted Nick and persuaded Ryan to stand with us while Coach Oliver took our picture.
A curtain would later fall - Nick's developmental difficulties would
ultimately result in a formal diagnosis of autism. We still keep that little
outfit of Nick's and a special set of pictures as a memory of two strong,
durable and dedicated fighters - briefly together one spring afternoon.
My favorite memory of Nolan Ryan was a game between the Rangers and the Kansas City Royals. It was a hot, humid evening in Arlington Stadium. Electricity was in the air. Bo Jackson came to the plate and blasted a hard ball back to the mound and off the mouth of Nolan. We were in the upper deck, and if we had not come equipped with binoculars, we may have never known the seriousness of the strike. Blood was everywhere! But the Express just kept on pitching. It was amazing. What an example he set for the younger generation on that memorable night. I am proud to be able to say that I was there.
I was 13 years old and living just north of Houston when Nolan Ryan joined that great Houston Astros pitching staff that included Vern Ruhle, Joe Niekro, J.R. Richard, Joe Sambito and current Astros manager Larry Dierker. My father shared season tickets with other members of his office staff and we had the first row in the second deck directly above the Astros' bullpen. When Ryan was scheduled to be the starting pitcher, we would arrive early to listen to the pop of the mitt as Ryan warmed up in the bullpen.
Those games that Ryan pitched kept me squarely on the edge of my seat. Each pitch he threw was preceded by a loud grunt that would echo throughout the Astrodome. It was intimidating to the fans, so I shudder to think what it was like for the batter. Those sounds and Ryan's head-down walk back to the dugout after each inning are memories that are ingrained in my head. |
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