TL1 Corpus Christi Hooks

Alvin ISD set to honor its own hometown Express

Published on January 19, 2007 under Texas League (TL1)
Corpus Christi Hooks News Release


ROUND ROCK, Texas - When Lynn Nolan Ryan accepted a transfer from Stanlon Oil Company in the spring of 1947, his wife, Martha Lee Hancock, was charged with choosing a place outside of Houston where the Ryan family would plant its roots.

She chose Alvin, a small community south of Houston because of its beautiful oak trees and pristine education system. And on Jan. 23, nearly 60 years to the date of that fateful choice, the Alvin Independent School District will honor Martha Lee Hancock's decision by breaking ground on its newest junior high school to be named after her son, Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan.

The school, which will become the fourth junior high in Alvin ISD, will be located just west of State Highway 288, which is also known as the Nolan Ryan Expressway. Ryan, 59, moved to Alvin with his family when he was six weeks old and called the community home until 2003 when he and his wife, Ruth, moved to Georgetown, Texas.

"So many individuals have called and sent letters in asking that we also name other facilities for Nolan Ryan, but this just seemed like the most appropriate way to honor someone who had, and continues to have, such an amazing impact on the Alvin community, " Alvin ISD spokesperson Shirley Borders said. "Nolan and Ruth are very well loved and respected here, not only for how much they've given back to the community, but also because of their commitment and dedication to education."

Nolan Ryan Junior High School will serve the Shadow Creek Ranch community and will take approximately 18 months to complete. It serves as part of three new schools being added to Alvin ISD.

"It's an honor to be recognized by a community that has meant so much to me and to my family," Ryan said. "We spent a good part of our lives in Alvin, where some of our best memories are planted. Education has always been important to us, so to be able to go back and be a part of the process is a great honor."

Ryan, who tossed a Major League record seven no-hitters and 12 one-hitters during his 27-year Major League career, fired his first no-no in Alvin as a Little Leaguer. He pitched for Alvin High School - where he now has a field named in his honor - and was selected by the New York Mets as the 226th overall draft choice in 1965.

Ryan made his Major League debut with New York at the age of 19 and appeared in 25 games for the 1969 World Series Champion Mets, recording one of three career saves with 2 1/3 innings of shutout relief in Game 3.

He went on to record a Major League-record 5,714 strikeouts with the Mets, the California Angels, the Houston Astros and the Texas Rangers. He picked up 324 career wins and carved out a 3.19 earned-run average over his career. Ryan is also the only pitcher in Major League history to strikeout the side on nine pitched balls in both leagues.

Ryan is an investor in Nolan Ryan's Aged Beef and owns and operates several cattle ranches in South Texas. In May of 1998, along with his oldest son, Reid, and Houston businessman Don Sanders, Ryan purchased a Double-A team and moved it to Round Rock.

Today, Ryan-Sanders Baseball owns and operates the Triple-A Round Rock Express and the Double-A Corpus Christi Hooks, both minor league affiliates of the Houston Astros.

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Texas League Stories from January 19, 2007


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