1992 Donruss Nolan Ryan Printed Money

The 1992 Donruss Nolan Ryan baseball card breaks all the rules of physics and marketplaces.

OK, maybe that’s a little extreme, but …

You know how, every once in awhile, you hear about someone finding or developing or coercing a “license to print money”?

If ever there was a baseball card analogy, it was any card company printing any card of Ryan in the early 1990s.

Back then, after Ryan traded Texas teams (Astros for Rangers), he became the hottest then-current player the hobby had ever seen.

That, thanks to stuff like ….

• Two no-hitters with his new teams
• Becoming the first pitcher with 5000 strikeouts
• Notching his 300th win
• Winning two strikeout titles after the age of 42
• Striking out more than 300 — for the sixth time in his career — at 42
• Beating Robin Ventura to a pulp when the youngster charged the mound

Yes, it all added up to an even bigger legend for The Ryan Express, and his 1968 Topps rookie card exploded into the stratosphere.

It dragged along every other Ryan card, too, and even the most mundane of his issues became must-haves.

Enter that 1992 Donruss card of his (#707):

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If you’ve ever wondered what it might feel like to have the Ryan Express bearing down on you with extreme malice, this might be about as close as you can get.

And, after the train wreck (see?) designs of the 1990 and 1991 Donruss sets, this one sported a crisp (dare I say “exciting”?) new look that makes Ryan look as fresh as a bottle rocket popping out of its cellophane bag in the early evening hours on July 4th.

And, if you’ve ever wondered what it feels like to be caught in Ryan’s disdainful, batter-facing stare, with a dash of extra disdain added by his declination to actually meet your eyes, the card back has you covered:

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Like the card front, this look represents a significant upgrade over past Donruss offerings. Though the truncated five-year-plus-career stats box remains, it’s shrunken down to make room for the aforementioned scorn, some career highlights, and even Ryan’s contract status.

And that card number tops it off, huh?

Ryan was as old-school as they came, and as old as just about any player had ever come, but the airplane of his career was still in full flight … same as his soaring hobby status.

So, yes, “707” feels about right.

Today, we know that this card is pretty much as plentiful as any other Junk Wax entry, and you can generally find it for sale at a buck or so for nice raw copies.

That can stretch up to $20 or more for PSA 9 or 10 graded specimens, but this card transcends all bounds of dollars and age and the space-time continuum.

Next time you stumble across a 1992 Donruss Nolan Ryan in a box full of penny sleeves, or a dealer case, or that shoebox under your cousin Freddie’s bed in his mom’s basement …

Just try and deny that you’re instantly transport back to those summers when Ryan made you feel like anything could happen, at least once every five days or so.