Angels fans who suffered through the first generation of teams to
play in Anaheim Stadium can divide the years into two eras: before and
after Nolan Ryan.

Before Ryan arrived, Angel games were sleepy, well-mannered affairs
with lots of available seats. No need to come early, parking was a snap
and the ticket lines were … well, there weren't ticket lines. If the
Angels were playing an established East Coast team such as the Yankees
or Red Sox, it felt like a road game with hundreds of loud fans
cheering their team on.

Ryan changed all that. He pitched four no-hitters and offered the
promise of another no-hitter with each start. Tickets were harder to
get when he pitched. You never knew what might happen, so you wanted to
be there, just in case.

His years with the Angels were almost up by 1979. Mark Heisler, The
Times' longtime NBA columnist, was writing about baseball then and put
together an old-fashioned Times feature, long and filled with great
detail.

Nolan Ryan is a full-grown phenomenon, a law unto himself. He is
like no other pitcher walking the earth. No one has ever thrown as
hard, been as wild, achieved as much and lasted as long. Rockwell
International scientists have clocked him at 100.9 mph and Ryan
suspects he has thrown harder than that. "I don't feel my fastest pitch
was ever timed," he said.

With the prospect of free agency looming, Ryan talked about the
business of baseball and all the teammates who have come and gone: "One
thing about this game. There's no sentiment, no loyalty. If you can't
perform for them, it's over. It's a business. That's their attitude.
It's got to become your attitude."

Ryan left for the Astros and after that the Rangers. He added three
more no-hitters, so the record for career no-hitters that he shared
with Sandy Koufax is now his. Anaheim Stadium didn't go back to its
early quiet years when he left, but things weren't the same either.

— Keith Thursby