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'What Am I Going To Do With My Life?'

People in Round Rock joke that Reid Ryan did a 'Ray Kinsella,' referring to the "Field of Dreams" character who had a vision that drove him to build a ballpark in the middle of his corn field.

Reid, who had played baseball at University of Texas in Austin, had tried his hand at following in the old man's footsteps. He was drafted by the Rangers in 1995, and played with Mahoning Valley in the New York-Penn League (Short A) and High Desert in the California League (High A).

"I thought like everybody else that played Little League that I would play major league baseball. Your dad’s Nolan Ryan and he plays 27 years, longer than anybody else, I figured for sure that I was going to play in the big leagues," recalls Reid. "I was fortunate enough to play in college, then I got drafted and I got to play in the minor leagues.  When that dream was over, like everybody, at a point in their life it’s kind of like,  ‘What am I going to do with my life?’"

Ryan had a degree in film and television. He went to work for a production company working with the Texas Rangers. He wasn't happy with being on the outside of the game. He recognized it was time for a change.

"In 1997 I came home from work and I woke my wife. I said I know what I want to do. I want to go to Austin and bring a minor league baseball team. And she was like 'okay great,' and went back to bed, like no big deal."

Why the minor leagues? Why not just content himself to a role in a major league organization, learn the ropes and pay dues?

"When I went to the minor leagues the first time,  I got to play for Hudsson Valley.  First year. Packed house every night.  I had never seen all of the antics, the dynamite lady.  I was blown away by how fun it was, how exciting.  The games were for the fans. How close the fans and the players were.  I felt it was something that would work in Texas. That’s how I got started."

Where in the Heck is Round Rock, Texas?

"People don’t know where Round Rock is, but this is a million  two-hundred thousand market. Austin makes up half of it. The other half is made up of Georgetown, Round Rock, Cedar Park and so forth,"notes Reid.

Round Rock is also both geographically and emotionally removed from the number one sport in the area: Longhorn football.

"In this town  UT football is number one. When they’re not in season, it’s a perfect time for us."

Prior to the debut of the Express, the Austin Ice Bats of the Central Hockey League (then the Western Professional Hockey League) were the only professional sport in town. Ryan had watched the unsuccessful launch of the independent FireBirds club while he was at UT. Even though that organization failed to bring baseball to the market, in the pre-computer boom days, Ryan knew that a team in a market that large had to succeed.

Of course, attaching a name like Nolan Ryan to a minor league club in Texas doesn't hurt either. Reid brought his dad, who also was looking to get back into the game in some meaningful way after being retired for a few years. They brought in partner and family friend Don Sanders from Houston, and his boys Brad and Brett.

A few players had leant their names to minor baseball clubs. There are others that have become minority holders. This was the first family operation with a Hall of Fame player. Not just any Hall of Fame player either.

"Working for a team in Texas owned by Nolan Ryan is pretty much like working for a church owned by God. You know, you just can’t go wrong," jokes Dave Fendrick, the Assistant General Manager of the Express.

Reid and his backers, met with the mayors of Austin and the surrounding communities. They chose Round Rock because, just as Dell had found years earlier, they had a pro-business, can-do attitude that looked to be attracting the greatest expansion of new residents.

"The demographics of the next thirty years show this is the area of growth," Reid tells MLN.  A lot of it has to do with the geographic make-up of Austin.  We felt like, by coming to Round Rock, we would be in the place we need to be in 2010, maybe not in 2000, but 2010 to 2020 we felt like that’s when we would be at our best.  Luckily for us, it’s been great from 2000 on."

Ryan started from ground zero. He had never done anything this ambitious. He suceeded because he reached out to get help from some of the very best.

Continued...

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