Early Life
Ryan was born in Refugio, Texas, the youngest of six children, to Lynn Nolan Ryan, Sr. and Martha Lee Hancock Ryan. His family lived in nearby Woodsboro, Texas until they moved to Alvin, Texas when he was six weeks old. As a young boy, he enjoyed throwing objects at any target. His father thought that baseball was a better usage for his arm; therefore, he encouraged Nolan to play the game.
Ryan joined Alvin Little League Baseball when he was nine, made the all-star team when he was 11 and 12, and pitched the first no-hitter of his life a few years later. Ryan also played various positions besides pitcher.
Ryan played baseball for Coach Jim Watson at Alvin High School for all of his high school career. Ryan held the senior year strikeout record for 44 years, retiring 21 hitters in a game. The record was eventually tied by Alvin High School pitchers Aaron Stewart and Josh Land in the same week in 2009.
In 1963, at an Alvin High School game at Clear Lake High School, New York Mets Scout Red Murff first noticed sophomore pitcher Ryan. Coach Watson recounted to Murff that some opponents refused to bat against Ryan and how his hard pitches would sometimes break bones in his catchers.
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