Editing Nolan Ryan (section)

== Personal life ==
Ryan married his high school sweetheart, Ruth Holdorff, on June 26, 1967. Nolan and Ruth attended Alvin High School together. Ruth was a high school state tennis champion.<ref name="mlb.com">{{Cite web |last=McTaggart |first=Brian |date=2017-05-13 |title=Ruth Ryan, wife of Nolan, proud of children |url=https://www.mlb.com/news/ruth-ryan-wife-of-nolan-proud-of-children-c229917658 |access-date=2025-03-10 |website=MLB.com}}</ref> They have three children: [[Reid Ryan|Reid]], Reese, and Wendy. Reid and Reese were both pitchers for the [[TCU Horned Frogs]]. Reid also pitched briefly in the minor leagues.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/04/03/sports/baseball-as-texas-watches-ryan-hurls-against-ryan.html|title=As Texas Watches, Ryan Hurls Against Ryan|newspaper=The New York Times|first=Claire|last=Smith|date=April 3, 1991|access-date=September 3, 2009}}</ref> On May 17, 2013, Reid was announced as president of the [[Houston Astros]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2013/05/17/nolan-ryans-oldest-son-named-astros-president/|title=Nolan Ryan's Oldest Son Named Astros President|work=[[WBBM-TV]]|date=May 17, 2013|access-date=May 18, 2013}}</ref>

Nolan frequently pitched in the off-seasons, with Ruth often donning catching gear and serving as his catcher.<ref>{{Cite web |last=DelVecchio |first=Steve |date=May 24, 2013 |title=Nolan Ryan's wife used to catch for him when he was in the majors |url=https://larrybrownsports.com/baseball/nolan-ryans-wife-used-to-catch-him/188788 |access-date=2025-01-26 |website=Larry Brown Sports}}</ref> Ruth Ryan also coached their sons' little league teams for a few summers.<ref name="mlb.com" />

Nolan Ryan resides in the Cimarron Hills community in [[Georgetown, Texas|Georgetown]], Texas.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Barr |first=Greg |date=April 19, 2017 |title=Want to live like a rock star? Aerosmith drummer puts Austin-area luxury home up for sale |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/austin/news/2017/04/19/want-to-live-like-a-rock-star-aerosmith-drummer.html |access-date=26 September 2021 |website=bizjournals.com |publisher=Austin Business Journal}}</ref>

===Political activity===
[[File:President George H. W. Bush introduces Nolan Ryan to Queen Margrethe II of Denmark at a State Dinner (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|Ryan is introduced to [[Margrethe II of Denmark]] by [[George H. W. Bush]] in 1991. His wife, Ruth, is at right.]]
Ryan wrote in his 1992 autobiography "Miracle Man" that he voted for [[Jimmy Carter]] over [[Gerald Ford]] in 1976, but since then has generally identified as a [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]], though he does not automatically vote this way and looks at individual candidates, mentioning disgust at one particular election in which the two major parties were forcing a choice between "the racist or the criminal."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ryan |first1=Nolan |last2=Jenkins |first2=Jerry B. |title=Miracle Man: Nolan Ryan |date=1992 |publisher=W Publishing Group}}</ref> He also crossed party lines in 2002 to headline a group of Republicans and Independents supporting a Democratic candidate for Lieutenant Governor of Texas. He has maintained a decades-long friendship with the Bush family, partially due to [[George W. Bush]] being a part-owner of the Rangers while Ryan played there. However, in his 1992 book Ryan expressed some criticisms of the elder Bush's (George H.W. Bush) management of domestic issues and said he wasn't "locked in" to voting for Bush that fall. In 1996 Ryan campaigned on behalf of [[Ron Paul]] in the election for [[Texas's 14th congressional district]]; his hometown of Alvin was located in the district.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/22/magazine/22Paul-t.html?ei=5124&en=22ee37525a9fc4f5&ex=1343016000&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink&pagewanted=all|work=[[The New York Times]]|title=The Antiwar, Anti-Abortion, Anti-Drug-Enforcement-Administration, Anti-Medicare Candidacy of Dr.&nbsp;Ron Paul|date=July 22, 2007|first=Christopher|last=Caldwell|access-date=September 3, 2009}}</ref>

On April 7, 2011, [[Todd Staples]] announced that Nolan Ryan would be his statewide chairman for his exploratory committee for [[Lieutenant Governor of Texas|lieutenant governor]]. Ryan is quoted as saying, "Todd Staples is the top prospect for the Texas Republican Party in 2014."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.toddstaples.com/|title=Press Releases|date=April 7, 2011|access-date=September 4, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://s3.amazonaws.com/Todd_Staples/Staples_PR_2014.pdf|title=PRESS RELEASE: Nolan Ryan to Serve as Statewide Chairman for Staples|date=April 7, 2011|access-date=September 4, 2013}}</ref> Staples, however, lost that race to current Lieutenant Governor [[Dan Patrick (politician)|Dan Patrick]] of Houston.