ARLINGTON, Texas — The Nolan Ryan picture show came to Globe Life Field on Sunday and it was everything you expected. That is if you expected a sweeping love story that spans twice as long as Ryan’s storied 27-season Hall of Fame playing career.
Ostensibly "Facing Nolan," the 102-minute documentary from Director Bradlee Jackson, is about Ryan’s baseball career. A couple of thousand of the sellout crowd of 38,316, the largest ever to attend a game at Globe Life Field, stuck around after the Rangers-Braves game to see the first public screening of the film. It will be shown in wide release for one night on May 24.
What that they saw: The love story between Ryan and his wife of 54 years, Ruth, takes center stage. While the film sheds no remarkably new light about Ryan’s historic career or accomplishments, it does give insight into Ryan’s strong family relationship.
“People got to see the Nolan Ryan, that we, his family, see,” said Ryan’s eldest son, Reid, who was an Executive Producer on the film. “And they got to see the relationship with my mom and him. I just can’t thank Bradley enough for being able to pull out what is the true essence of our family and my dad’s career. I think that’s resonated with people.”
Said Ryan: “I didn’t really know what to expect. I thought it would be more focused on my career and I guess never even thought about the family aspect of it. And I’m really thrilled that they did that because I think they captured what a really important role that played in my career.”
The film was honored during the ceremonial first pitch. But it was Jackson, the director, who tossed it rather than The Express. Apparently, Ryan is not in that business any longer. He said he threw out his shoulder trying to teach some of his grandchildren how to skip rocks across a pond at his ranch.
