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This Day In Sports…May 1, 1991:

Nolan Ryan pitches his major league record seventh career no-hitter when the Texas Rangers blank the Toronto Blue Jays 3-0. Ryan was working on four days’ rest at the age of 44. He was already the oldest pitcher ever to throw a no-hitter, having tossed one as a 43-year-old the previous June. Ryan was at his fireballing best against what at that time was the best team in baseball, striking out at least one Blue Jay every inning and ringing up 16 Ks for the game.

As Sports Illustrated’s Steve Wulf wrote at the time, “Now Ryan has as many no-hitters as there are seas, heavens, wonders of the world, days of the week, sacraments, deadly sins and innings before you stretch.” Ryan also had three more career no-hitters than Sandy Koufax, who is alone in second place. And there could have been so many more. The eight-time All-Star had five no-hitters broken up in the ninth inning during his career, leading to a record 12 complete game one-hitters.

Ryan’s first no-hitter came in 1973 with the California Angels, and his second one did that season, too. He tossed two more for the Angels in 1974 and 1975. Ryan pitched one no-hitter during his nine seasons with the Houston Astros, in 1981. His only Achilles heel was walks, and that prevented him from ever throwing a perfect game. Ryan retired in 1993 with 324 victories, a record 5,714 strikeouts, and a career ERA of 3.19. Ryan was the first pitcher to be clocked regularly with throws of 100 miles per hour and maintained that velocity throughout his career.

Amazingly, Ryan never won the Cy Young Award. And he earned his only World Series ring at the age of 22, when he was a reliever and spot-starter for the 1969 Miracle Mets. Ryan’s career took off with the Angels in the 1970s. He became baseball’s first $1 million-a-year player when he signed with the Astros prior to the 1980 season. Ryan joined the Rangers in 1989 and spent the final five seasons of his career with them. He would later serve as president and CEO of the Rangers from 2008-13, a run that included the first two World Series appearances in Texas franchise history. 

(Tom Scott hosts the Scott Slant segment during the football season on KTVB’s Sunday Sports Extra. He also anchors four sports segments each weekday on 95.3 FM KTIK and one on News/Talk KBOI. His Scott Slant column runs every Wednesday.) 

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