100. (SOLD OUT) "The Ryan Express Rides Again" 7" x 10.5" Art Print

And up to the mound is Pop Fly number 100. The big one-oh-oh! This 7 x 10.5" print is available for preorder for one week only. After that, it's retired forever. The 100th print is none other than arguably the greatest pitcher of all time, Mr. Nolan Ryan. Nolan Ryan faced his first batter 56 years ago to the day of the release of this Pop Fly. And, fittingly, that first batter walked back to the dugout as the first of Ryan's 5,714 strikeouts. 

What's more, I collaborated with The Ryan Express himself on this piece. We're happy to share that player autographs, and inscriptions are also available in addition to the regular unsigned Pop Fly. Make your choices on the dropdown menus.

Now - Why Nolan Ryan? If you've been following Pop Fly you'll know that "The Ryan Express" was the 13th Pop Fly that I released. There's SO much rich story to his long career that it's impossible to nail it all down in one.
The Miracle Mets of 69.
The foundational years as an Angel
Oh, and the tragedy of being a high-caliber pitcher on the Astros, a team that just couldn't put runs up on the board.
And, of course, coming home to the Rangers - a point in his career that heralded some of his most iconic moments.

Growing up, Dale Murphy was my #1 favorite player. And Nolan Ryan was easily my favorite pitcher of all time. Second only to my Murphy card collection was my Nolan Ryan collection. If you're anywhere near the age of 40 and loved baseball as a kid, you likely had the very iconic Nolan Ryan "Texas Ranger" poster hanging in your room just like I did.

So many memories attached to Nolan Ryan. Let me name a few:

Collecting the Nolan Ryan career-spanning, personal-life glimpsing card set from Pacific in 1991. I loved those silver packs and collected the hell out of them as a kid.

A porcelain statue of Nolan Ryan - my first "big" memorabilia purchase as a kid. There was a comic & card shop a few towns over that me and my buddy Evan would go to as often as our moms would take us. There they had this statue of him in mid-delivery that I had to have (and still have to this day). It's sat in the same curio cabinet in my parent's house for the last 30 years! I put 45 dollars of my own money on the counter, and I walked home with that treasure in tow.

"Just missing" Nolan's 300th win. Truth is I didn't just miss it, but it felt like it as a kid. My family went on a fantastic vacation in 1990, where we stopped at many MLB ballparks along the way. While in Arlington, we got to see a Yankees/Rangers game, and Ryan had 299 wins up to that point. He wasn't scheduled to pitch that day, but I was DYING to see him play. I was hoping some scheduling mishap would have him in the rotation, but that was not the case. He ended up getting his 300th win in Milwaukee a short time later.

Watching the Nolan Ryan "Feel the Heat" VHS tape ad. I can still sing the Nolan Ryan-themed version of "Rawhide" that played in the intro.

Regrettably, I never saw him play, but I love watching his career from afar here in California. Honored to have my art world and his professional world collide on this print.

This is a pre-order item and will be shipped 40-60 days after the print is retired.

Our art prints (not a comic book) is printed on double-thick card stock & comes packaged in all the nostalgia you can ask for. The art print is a pre-order item for sale for one week only and then the print is retired and the print run is locked. *Frame not included.  

Featured on Hot Stove:

Topps Project 100:

See Where We Have Been: Click here

A new piece of art each week -- a sports-themed 7” x 10.5” double-thick cardstock art print of an original artist-made piece of art. That's right, this isn't a comic book, it's just one piece of fun sports-themed nostalgia at a time. There are 20 different art prints released in a season (1 per week) and once they're gone… they're gone! From then on they'll only be available at higher cost on the secondary market.

*Tariff fee is applied during checkout on shipping cost for international orders.