The seven gems

Ryan’s first no-hitter came on May 15, 1973 with the California Angels against the Royals — he was 26. He added a second 60 days later (July 15, 1973 vs. Detroit), then no-hit Minnesota in 1974 and Baltimore in 1975. The 1975 Baltimore game tied him with Koufax at 4.

He went 6 1/2 years between #4 (1975) and #5 (September 26, 1981 with Houston vs. the Dodgers — the no-hitter that broke the Koufax tie). #6 came June 11, 1990 with the Rangers vs. Oakland — Ryan was 43 years old and is the only player ever to throw a no-hitter past age 40. He added #7 on May 1, 1991 against Toronto at age 44, becoming the oldest player ever to throw a no-hitter.

Why no one's caught him

The structural reasons no-hitters happen rarely have only gotten more pronounced since Ryan retired: bullpens carry the late innings, starters rarely face a lineup three times, and pitch counts get hooked at 100. Ryan threw 100+ pitches into the 8th and 9th innings routinely. He pitched 222 complete games — more than any player since 1969 — and is the all-time MLB strikeout leader at 5,714, more than 800 ahead of second-place Randy Johnson.

Sandy Koufax (4 no-hitters from 1962-65, including the 1965 perfect game) sits second. Bob Feller, Cy Young, and Larry Corcoran each threw 3. Among modern pitchers: Justin Verlander (3, including a 2011 no-hitter and a 2019 perfect-attempt that lost on a single in the 7th), Max Scherzer (2), Roy Halladay (2 — including the 2010 NLDS Game 1 no-hitter, only the second postseason no-hitter ever), and Clayton Kershaw (1).

Ryan after the no-hitter run

After his 7th no-hitter in May 1991, Ryan pitched two more seasons with the Rangers and retired in September 1993 with a torn elbow ligament suffered against Seattle in his last start. He’s the all-time leader in walks (2,795) and strikeouts (5,714) — the only pitcher in either record book by a comfortable margin. Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1999 with 98.79% of the vote, the highest pitcher percentage at the time.

Ryan owned the Round Rock Express minor-league franchise in Texas after retirement. He served as president of the Texas Rangers from 2008 to 2013, presiding over the team’s first two World Series appearances (2010, 2011). The Rangers retired his #34 jersey in 1996; the Angels retired #30; the Astros retired #34. He’s the only pitcher with three retired numbers across three franchises.

Background facts cross-referenced with the Wikipedia article on Nolan Ryan and Pro-Football-Reference / Basketball-Reference public records.