Looking at the old black-and-white images, it's hard to believe the skinny kid in the pictures couldn't see any of it coming.
Not seven no-hitters. Not 5,000 strikeouts.
Not 27 seasons and the Hall of Fame.
"My goal was to get four years in to qualify for the pension," Nolan Ryan told me in 1993. "Then I'd go to work. My goal wasn't to pitch every fifth day or win a bunch of games. It was all a little overwhelming, and it wasn't fun.
"Growing up, my life revolved around Texas. I was from a little smaller scale, and it was a little intimidating for someone from Alvin, Texas.