Facing Nolan

SXSW 2022 Greetings again from the darkness. Having been a baseball fan for as long as I can remember, I can list the handful of players that I got to see play in person who left me in utter awe of their talent. Lynn Nolan Ryan was definitely one of them, so when I saw Bradley Jackson's documentary listed on the SXSW schedule, I immediately sent my RSVP.

Jackson opens with the numbers: 7 no-hitters, 100.9 mph, 5714 career strikeouts, and 51 Major League Baseball records. Big Tex. The Ryan Express. If he wasn't flesh and blood, Nolan Ryan could be the lead character in a graphic novel. An intimidating player with a Texas drawl borne of his upbringing in tiny Alvin, Texas. We see a fuzzy clip of Nolan pitching in high school, and his wife Ruth drives us by his childhood home. As a long-time fan, I'm relieved to see that Ruth Ryan is finally exposed as a guiding force in his life and career. Their first date is recalled ... watching ROME ADVENTURE (Suzanne Pleshette, Troy Donahue) ... as is their second - a baseball game to see Sandy Koufax pitch. Ruth explains that Nolan had no aspirations of a professional baseball career, and instead was determined to become a veterinarian. It was Mets' scout Red Murff who changed the trajectory of animals and hitters everywhere when he convinced the team to draft Nolan.

Jackson includes interviews with players such as Pete Rose, Randy Johnson, and Jerry Grote (his catcher with the Mets). Rose talked about how difficult it was to face Nolan, while Johnson labels him the most intimidating pitcher of all-time. Others interviewed include Ryan's biographer Rob Goldman and former President George W Bush, who was one of the team owners when Ryan signed with the Texas Rangers.

Some terrific archival footage shows Nolan's World Series contribution to the 1969 Miracle Mets, his subsequent trade to Gene Autry's ("The Singing Cowboy") California Angels, and his early no-hitters and dominance. We learn about the impact of Tom Morgan, his first "real" pitching coach, and later, Ryan's stunning free agent contract with the Houston Astros - making him the first athlete to sign a million-dollar contract. Jackson even includes the replay of the moment in 1973 when Norm Cash came to the plate with a table leg instead of bat to face Ryan during his second career no-hitter.

More footage is shown of Ryan's 5th and 6th no-hitters, including Terry Puhl's running catch. What a fun moment it is when Mr. Puhl proves that, even to this day, he still has the clip of that catch on his iPhone. And yes, it was the Astros' blunder of inviting Nolan to take a 'hometown' pay cut, that drove him to sign with the cross-state rival Texas Rangers and write the final chapter of his storied baseball career. What followed was his 300th win, his 5000th strikeout, and remarkably, his 7th no-hitter. Of course, one of the most famous events of Ryan's career occurred in 1993 when Robin Ventura charged the mound against the 46-year-old Ryan. What's fascinating is how this is tied back to a previous incident with Dave Winfield years ago. Winfield discusses what happened, while Ryan admits to the impact.

The baseball content served up here is enough for any fan, but the real insight comes from the talks with Ruth and Nolan and their family members. Sure, he spent 27 years in the league and delivered a humble Hall of Fame induction speech (which is included here), but at the core of the player is the man with values ... the man Ruth chose so many years ago. The kids and grandkids speak of Nolan and Ruth as role models, and we witness firsthand the difference between the Hall of Fame pitcher and the man fishing on the riverbank or at the head of the table for family meals. We have Red Murff and Tom Morgan to thank for the pitching, Ruth Ryan to thank for the man, and Bradley Jackson to thank for this profile.

I have been telling people for years that Fastball is the best documentary of all time. Not the best sport doc, but the best doc!

Fastball is compelling, informative and the reveal in the final scenes pretty much set up this doc. Watching this documentary, I had one continuous gripe with this film. Instead of it being a love letter from fans, it comes off as a love letter from his family. Sorry, I get it, your dad, husband and grandfather are a legend, but family praise never comes off as genuine as fan or peer praise.

I got way too much of his son which became so clear when the credit roll and you see he is the main producer, Family praise makes up at least 20% of this film and that is about twice as much that was acceptable. There is a touching scene with the whole family at one point, but that should have truly been the majority of the family involvement. Dave Winfield, George Brett and Pete Rose add amazing color. I would have loved Bo Jackson's take, but I suspect Bo doesn't like being on film, despite having the best 30 for 30 of all time.

I learned a lot here and Hall of Fame players added great perspective and had they stuck with that formula, this would be an absolute 10. I still recommend this movie, just think that it unfortunately got bastardized by too much family involvement.

Nolan Ryan might be one of the most oddly-perceived star baseball players of all-time. On one hand, he was clearly dominant: 27 seasons (parts of four decades), strikeout record by a mile, 7 no-hitters, etc. His career arc (Texas native starring for both TX major league teams) also propelled him to almost mythic status. At the same time, however, he set some ignominious records-walks allowed, wild pitches, etc.-and his overall numbers (besides the big ones) don't look as "clean" as others. A fascinating figure, to be sure, and all of that-plus some great glimpses into his current/family life-is bandied about here in "Facing Nolan".

At heart, this doc is a pretty standard biography of Ryan. Director Bradley Jackson begins with Nolan's Alvin, TX upbringing and then chronicles early-career stints with the Mets & Angels. Then, of course, comes the dominating return to Texas-Astros-and finally his last few seasons with the Rangers, where his legend grew to mythic status. Along the way, Jackson gathers input from Nolan's wife, sons, and daughter to flesh out who Ryan was when not at the ballpark.

In fact, "Facing Nolan" has a very "family" feel to it, what with his sons-Reid & Reese-listed as executive producers. While some might say that could provide an overly-sympathetic look at Ryan's career/life, I never got those vibes here. In all actuality, I found the material on Nolan's wife to be some of the best of the entire doc. Scenes from modern-day Nolan working his cattle ranch and hanging out with his grandchildren were also quite touching and highly enjoyable in seeing where this momentous figure's life has taken him.

Aside from the archival footage and familial input, interviews with Ryan himself and his contemporaries (George Brett, Craig Biggio, Randy Johnson, Ivan Rodriguez, George W. Bush, and many others) populate "Facing Nolan" and are always engaging. In a bit of an odd quirk, I actually found Nolan's direct input a bit boring at first, only to come to understand (over the course of the doc) that his laconic style is simply his personality and always has been.

Despite my top-shelf 10 star rating, "Facing Nolan" isn't a perfect documentary. The narration can be a bit over-the-top (perhaps even corny) and there are certain themes introduced that aren't carried over throughout. But for whatever reason, the entire effort seemed to "hit" at the right time and elicit real emotion from this viewer. I learned that Nolan Ryan's baseball impact can't be measured by the pure numbers so often used to evaluate the players of today, and I smiled at his post-career journey to find purpose in his ranching and family life. In short, I had such a good time-and experienced so many different emotions-watching "Facing Nolan" that I couldn't give it anything less than the full 10 stars.

Facing Nolan Rating: 7/10 Director & Writer: Bradley Jackson Style: Sports Documentary Time: 105 minutes

Nolan Ryan now looks back on his career in this documentary Review by Mike Szymanski Even if you are not a baseball fan, this is a fascinating documentary about a family man who shows how the support of his wife and three children helped make him a star in his sports profession.

Even if you don't know much about baseball, you may have heard the name Nolan Ryan who was an intimidating pitcher to stand up against during his time in the game. He struck everyone out. Older, younger, newer players, even fathers and later their sons, in the pro league. None of them could get a hit off of Nolan's 100-plus mph pitches.

And, if you are from Texas, you know his name as someone who is a legend.

One of the biggest fans of Nolan, who plays prominently in the documentary, is former president George W. Bush. He recalls some of Ryan's biggest sports moments, and remembers some of Ryan's biggest plays. He puts the guy squarely in Texas history as a hero.

Throughout the documentary there are photos of Ryan with the likes of former president Bill Clinton and Muhammad Ali and other superstars.

However, this documentary is not about the famous people Ryan met, but about the family around him. One daughter says she recalls when her father put a guy in a headlock on the pitcher's mound and immediately thought, "I am not going to get a date anymore." Already most of the guys she went out with were intimidated by her dad, and this would only make her dating possibilities worse.

And when the family was told that Ryan appeared in a soap opera, not surprisingly called "Ryan's Hope," they watched it online and one of the family members critiqued: "It's a good thing you stuck with baseball, not acting." Nolan's rise to become the most dominating pitcher the game has ever seen, as one expert says, is something that his wife, Ruth, had to contend with early on in their relationship. She notes that she was told early on by a friendly coach that she would have to share her husband with the world of baseball. She didn't want to do that at first, but realized pretty quickly that she would have to, and she did.

Ruth remembers their first date together in 1967. He took her to a movie called "Rome Adventure" and the romance continued for a lifetime. They knew each other in school; he was voted Most Handsome, she was voted Most Beautiful. He was known for his fast pitch, and he ran a cattle ranch on the off-season in case his baseball plans didn't pan out.

Ruth Nolan talks about supporting him from the beginning of his baseball career On their second date, he took Ruth to a ballgame to watch Sandy Colfax pitch, and studied his every move. Within 10 years of watching that game, he would have broken all of Colfax's records.

Nolan wracked up 51 major league records, and many of them are because he is the oldest to accomplish a few baseball records while in his 40s.

With his decades in the game, Ryan accomplished 5,714 strikeouts. He struck out all sorts of superstars. He also got seven no-hitter games in a row.

Nolan was a reliever in the 1969 World Series "Miracle Mets" and four years later led the league with 329 strikeouts. He was also the first Major League player to earn a salary of $1 million.

At the young age of 22, Nolan had a World Series Ring, and he went with his team on the Ed Sullivan Show to sing "You've Got to Have Heart." Ruth recalled the year he was involved with the World Series, and laughs that it was the first - and last - time she ever tried champagne.

Some of the baseball superstars in this documentary, like Pete Rose and Rod Carew are fascinating enough to see, especially how they talk with fondness about Nolan Ryan.

His pitch was clocked at more than 100 miles per hour, but others believed it to be much faster. Some insist at least 180 mph.

A culmination in Nolan's career happened on August 4, 1993, and is one of the most common questions he still gets asked about today. Robin Ventura was the Chicago White Sox third baseman who charged the pitcher's mound after Ryan hit him with a pitch. Ryan grabbed Ventura in a headlock like he would use for his cows and knocked him on the head before an all-out brawl ensued.

Player Robin Ventura declined to be interviewed for the documentary, so it says in a scroll. That's unfortunate because it would have been nice to hear his side.

The end of Nolan's career is sad. He was stopped in the middle of a game when his elbow was significantly bothering him due to a torn ligament. Only age could stop "The Express" and he never got to continue the game, or get back into the game ever again.

His wife Ruth talked about how she cried during that game, knowing it was the end of his career, and she teared up while remembering it.

In real life, the director became a dad during the making of the documentary, and he said he thinks that subconsciously he hoped to create a movie that celebrated achieving greatness with the love and support of people around you.

Nolan "is someone who always put family first, carried the banner for his state, and showed the sporting world what hard work and endurance is all about," said director Jackson.

Joshua Myer's country music score in the film is delightful and fun, and perfect for the backdrop of the documentary. The documentary baseball footage is priceless, as well as the scenes driving through Alvin, Texas, where Ruth whimsically points out a tree that Nolan planted in the front yard of the family house.

Facing Nolan and his pitch might have been scary, but the reality is that he seems like a great family man, and is a national hero.

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Just want to clarify as mentioned in the documentary about Nolan Ryan being the only player in any sport to receive a million dollar contract.

Bobby Hull playing hockey on the WHA 1972 had a million dollar contract before NR.

Was a well presented documentary, absolutely mind-boggling how Nolan Ryan did not win a Cy Young award .

I watched Nolan Ryan pitch a few times and it was always an amazing display how hard he can throw that ball.

Nolan Ryan and Ferguson Jenkins are my two favorite pictures of all time.

108 mph fastball is just incredible considering he did not have much training in regards to weight training or coaching.

Congratulations on a great career and Hall of Fame enshrinement.