Nolan Ryan: The Mets Years (Part One:1966 thru the Amazing 1969 Championship Season)
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Lynn Nolan Ryan was born on January 31st, 1947 in Refugio, Texas, a son to Robert Ryan & Martha Lee Hancock a descendant of John Hancock, signer of the Declaration of Independence . The Ryan family moved to Alvin, Texas when Nolan was just six weeks old. He began to pitch in Little League & tossed his first no hitter at nine years old. From the ages of 8-18 he learned a strong work ethic, working with his dad who besides working for a local oil company was also a Houston Post distributor. Young Nolan rolled up & tossed the news papers, strengthening that gifted arm. With the arrival of major league baseball in Houston, Ryan was able to go watch games & it was there he was first mesmerized by the pitching of Sandy Koufax. In high school the Ryan stories are legendary, one tells of a game in the first inning where he cracked the lead off man's batting helmet, hit the number two man & broke his arm & had the third hitter refuse to enter the batter's