Nolan Ryan is considered one of the greatest pitchers of all time and his baseball cards from his career are some of the most sought after collectibles. One of the most prominent card companies to feature Ryan was Donruss, who included him in many of their baseball card sets throughout his 27-year Major League career from 1966-1993.
Ryan made his MLB debut with the New York Mets in 1966 at age 19. While he struggled early on with control issues, it was clear he possessed an electric fastball. His rookie card from the 1967 Topps set is a key piece in any baseball card collection. It was with Donruss where collectors could first find a card of Ryan’s early Mets years.
In 1981, Donruss released their first major baseball card set since discontinuing production in the late 1970s. The 1981 Donruss set included a card of the then 35-year old Ryan, by then pitching for the Houston Astros. While with the Astros, Ryan began having the most dominant seasons of his career. He led the league in strikeouts an astounding 5 times between 1981-1988 while with Houston. His cards from Donruss sets during this era are some of the most iconic of his career.
In 1984, Ryan achieved one of his most renowned accomplishments by recording his 5,000th career strikeout. Donruss commemorated this milestone with a special “5000 Strikeouts” parallel card inserted in factory sets. This parallel card captured one of the definitive moments of Ryan’s storied career and is a highly sought after key card by collectors today. Other Ryan cards from 1984 Donruss that are classics include his base card and an “All-Star” parallel recognizing his selection to the mid-summer classic that year.
Ryan’s dominance continued with the Astros through the 1980s. In 1985, he set the single season strikeout record with 270, surpassing his own previous record of 283 set just 4 years prior. Donruss highlighted this new record with a “270 K” parallel card. His 1986 Donruss base card shows him in the process of setting yet another single season strikeout record with 216, on his way to tallying 216 by season’s end. Collectors enjoyed following Ryan’s record breaking exploits year after year through Donruss cards during this peak of his career.
After 16 seasons with the Mets and Astros, the 41-year old Ryan was traded to the Texas Rangers in 1989. While nearing the end of his career, Ryan enjoyed a late career renaissance with Texas. In 1990 at age 43, he won his 5th Cy Young Award after striking out 301 batters and posting a 1.69 ERA. Donruss captured this improbable season with a special “1990 Cy Young Award Winner” parallel insert card. His 1991 Donruss card depicted him in a Rangers uniform following the first of two no-hitters he would throw for Texas late in his career.
Ryan’s career came to a close in 1993 at age 46 after pitching one final season with the Rangers. Donruss paid tribute to the legendary hurler with an “End of an Era” parallel insert card recognizing the conclusion of his 27-year MLB tenure. Collectors could now look back at the full arc of Ryan’s career through his comprehensive collection of cards from Donruss sets spanning from 1981 through 1993. No other card company provided such extensive and memorable documentation of Ryan’s playing days from start to finish.
In addition to his base cards, Donruss also included Ryan in several special subsets over the years further chronicling his accomplishments. These included “All-Stars”, “Records”, “Leader” and “Traded” cards. After retirement, Ryan was immediately inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999 with an unprecedented 98.7% of the vote, cementing his status as one of the games true immortals. Today, Ryan’s complete Donruss card collection spanning his two decade career remains a highly valued collection for both Astros and Rangers fans alike to reminisce about his legendary exploits on the mound.
While other card companies like Topps hold prominence, no issuer better captured the full story of Nolan Ryan’s playing days from beginning to end like Donruss. Their annual base cards provided a yearbook of his statistics and included memorable parallel inserts for his most outstanding seasons and achievements. Collectors are able to relive Ryan’s dominance and late career resurgence by assembling a complete Donruss set, featuring some of the most visually striking and historically significant baseball cards ever produced. As one of the games all-time greats, Nolan Ryan’s illustrious career will continue to inspire collectors and fans for generations to come through his iconic cardboard collectibles from Donruss.
