Alvin museum features a hometown legend
Grand opening on deck for permanent exhibit and temporary area that focus on more than pitcher Ryan’s baseball career
Baseball legend Nolan Ryan will be the subject of a new permanent exhibit at the Alvin Historical Museum.
Ryan, a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame with 324 wins and seven no-hitters in a 27-year career that saw him play for four major league teams, got his start in Alvin, where he grew up.
He’s been a favorite son of Alvin for decades, having lived there throughout his baseball career, later moving to Central Texas.
The exhibit will have its grand opening from 1-3 p.m. April 8. There will be guest speakers and admission is free.
Patrons must wear masks to enter the building.
The exhibit will fill a gap in the city, a museum official said.
“Many people don’t realize that when the Nolan Ryan exhibit and foundation office at the Nolan Ryan Center at (Alvin Community College) closed, many significant items and memorabilia were given to the Alvin Historical Museum,” said Donna Starkey, vice president of the Alvin Museum Society.
Volunteers have been working for more than a year to set up the major exhibit, she said.
When Ryan moved to Central Texas, his foundation moved with him.
Tom Stansel, chief operating officer and curator for the Alvin Museum Society, said the exhibit is massive.
“It’s not just a couple of panels,” he said. “It’s almost a whole room full of information and items.”
The exhibit has two parts. “We actually have a temporary exhibit and a permanent exhibit,” Stansel said. “We have lots of pieces in the temporary exhibit that will be here for a couple of months, but the permanent exhibit will be here from now on.”
The curator said the exhibits are more than just highlights of a stellar baseball career.
“It’s a little bit different from (most exhibits) because we try to bring out the character of (his wife) Ruth and Nolan because they have a high character,” he said.
“When you’re looking for heroes, you should find somebody who has good character and they definitely fit.”
Stansel said Ryan’s embrace of the fans was just one example of his character.
“Nolan’s signature, when you compare it to a lot of other Hall of Famers, is not worth a whole lot compared to theirs, because he gave them out for free,” he said. “At the end of games, he would set up at a gate, and he would sign stuff for all these kids until they were gone.”
Stansel also noted that the couple has remained down-to-earth. While the museum was planning the exhibit, Ruth Ryan was there every step of the way and made sure some corrections were made.
“When we were setting the display up, we made several comments like, ‘Nolan led the Alvin High School team to State,’ and Ruth Ryan said, ‘No, he was a member of the team,’ ” Stansel said.
“She was very precise. She has reviewed everything to make sure we are not overpitching anything.”
Stansel said he has a couple of favorite items that will be on display. One is the jersey Ryan wore in his last major league game.
Another goes back to Ryan’s days as an Alvin High Yellowjacket.
“When he was first scouted as a (high school) junior, he was scouted by Red Murff,” Stansel said. “We have his scouting report that he made, and it said this ‘skinny kid from Alvin has the strongest arm I’ve ever seen.’ ”
The museum is at 300 W. Sealy and is housed in the city’s former post office, which was built in 1940.
Stansel said that while the Ryan exhibit will be a permanent part of the museum, an extensive renovation meant that no other displays were put into storage.
“We took a storage area that we had and renovated it for exhibit space,” he said. “Then we took the loading dock and enclosed it. That made a brand-new place for the Nolan exhibit, so we didn’t displace anything.”