Nolan Ryan Win #45 – September 4, 1972 California Angels Oakland A's Ticket Stub

From the AP news article about this game –

A’s Split Pair, White Sox Next

OAKLAND (AP) — It took “the hardest thrower in baseball” to cool off the Athletics just when it seemed the Oakland batters were snapping out of a slump.

California Angels’ right-hander Nolan Ryan fired a 10-strikeout, six-hitter Monday for a 2–1 victory that prevented an Oakland doubleheader sweep in the conclusion of a Coliseum home stand.

The A’s, who rolled to a 10–5 triumph in the opener, still managed to increase their lead in the American League Western Division to 3½ games over the Chicago White Sox.

Oakland can move closer to a second straight division flag in a two-game series with the White Sox beginning tomorrow at Chicago. “A split wouldn’t hurt us,” said A’s manager Dick Williams, “but we plan on taking two.”

“And we had our chances against Ryan, too,” the skipper added. “But you’ve got to give him a lot of credit. He pitched some great ball in the pressure situation.”

Long after the doubleheader was over, fans and players were still buzzing about Ryan’s performance.

“He throws harder than anybody in baseball,” declared Reggie Jackson, whose first-inning sacrifice fly snapped Ryan’s scoreless string at 34 innings. “I used to think Sam McDowell was fast, but Ryan is even faster.”

Praise also came from Ryan’s catcher, Jeff Torborg. “In the last four innings Nolan had super heat,” Torborg said. “I caught Sandy Koufax in his prime, and he didn’t throw any harder. But Sandy had the best curve in the business, plus command and control.”

Ryan, now 16–12, finished strong by holding the A’s hitless over the last 3⅔ innings, striking out six batters in that span. The game was the 12th in which Ryan has fanned 10 or more batters this season and raised his league-leading total to 254 strikeouts.

The opener offered a sharp contrast. Angels pitching had allowed only five earned runs in the last nine games, but the A’s exploded for eight runs in the first two innings.

Offered is a ticket stub from this double header in which Nolan Ryan won his 45^th career game and took his record to 16-12 on the 1972 season.

This double header was played in front of 27,296 fans at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum.

Rare ticket stub.  According to the PSA pop report, there is only one ticket in the PSA Population.