Nolan Ryan grew up in Alvin, Texas, and lives in Georgetown. He has had a passion for cattle ranching since childhood. Nolan has served on the board of the Texas Beef Council and on the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission, and is one of the most influential figures in the beef industry in the United States. Along with his ranching activity he is currently spokesperson for Nolan Ryan Natural Beef.
Nolan distinguished himself as a strikeout leader in his unprecedented twenty-seven seasons in Major League Baseball, playing with the New York Mets (1966; 1968–1971), California Angels (1972–1979), Houston Astros (1980–1988), and Texas Rangers (1989–1993). The all-time leader in strikeouts (5,714) and no-hitters (7), Nolan has owned or shared fifty-three major league records. He also served as chief executive officer of the Texas Rangers, just the third Hall of Fame player to have served as the head of a Major League Baseball franchise.
JR Rosenthal began his writing career as the first California correspondent for Wine Spectator in San Francisco and restaurant editor of the San Jose Mercury News. He has written six books on baseball, including collaborations with Nolan Ryan, Tony Gwynn, Randy Johnson, and Don Mattingly. With Todd Blackledge of ESPN he is coauthor of Taste of the Town: A Guided Tour of College Football’s Best Places to Eat.
Cristobal G. Vazquez began his career working for ClubCorp International, the largest owner of private country clubs in the world, as both a chef de cuisine and expert ice carver. In addition he headed the culinary team at DNC Sportservice for the past six years as executive chef at the Texas Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.
Charlie Bradbury is president and chief executive officer of Nolan Ryan Beef and is a member of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. Bradbury received a bachelor of science degree in animal science from Texas A&M University. He lives in Huntsville, Texas, with his wife, Debbie, and three children and owns a small registered cattle ranch.