RYAN, NOLAN

born Jan. 31, 1947, Refugio, Texas, U.S. in full Lynn Nolan Ryan, Jr. American professional right-handed baseball pitcher, who in 1983 became the first pitcher to surpass Walter Johnson's record of 3,508 career strikeouts, set in 1927. Ryan was taught to play baseball by an elder brother and was a wild but fast pitcher for Alvin (Texas) High School before he was signed by the National League New York Mets in 1965. He pitched for their minor league teams (196567). Except for time out for military service, he pitched regularly for the Mets through the 1971 season and was then traded to the American League California Angels. Although he pitched brilliantly in relief for the Mets in 1969 when they won the pennant and the World Series, he came into his own as a pitcher with the Angels, leading the league in strikeouts seven of his first eight years with them (197274, 1976, 197779). In 1980 he moved as a free agent to the National League Houston Astros, and he moved to the Texas Rangers in 1989. The extraordinarily durable Ryan was still a leading pitcher in his early 40s. In 1989 he struck out his 5,000th batter, and he also held the record for most strikeouts in a season (383 in 1973). He led the American League in strikeouts a total of 10 times, and he was the oldest pitcher ever to lead a major league in strikeouts (in 1989 at age 42). In 1991 Ryan pitched his seventh no-hit game, establishing another record. He retired in 1993.