A native of New Orleans who attended Louisiana State University, he batted and threw right-handed and was listed as 5 feet 11 inches (1.80 m) tall and 175 pounds (79 kg).
On April 16, 1953, Ryan (then with the Phillies) made six hits in six at bats in a 14–12 loss to Pittsburgh, tying a then-Major League record. Ryan's safeties included two doubles; he scored three runs and had one run batted in.[1]
Ryan spent much of his baseball career in the Braves organization, working for them in three different cities: as a player in Boston (he was a utility infielder for the 1948 National League champions); a coach and minor league manager for Milwaukee during the late 1950s (he was the third-base coach on Fred Haney's staff during the Braves' 1957 world championship season); and as a coach (1971; 1973–74), interim manager (1975) and scout for the Atlanta club during the 1970s. Ryan succeeded Clyde King as skipper of the Atlanta Braves on August 30, 1975,[2] and guided the team to a record of 9–18 over the final 27 games of the season.
In 1977, Ryan began the season as a coach with the Texas Rangers. Texas manager Frank Lucchesi was replaced by Eddie Stanky, a teammate of Ryan's on the 1948–49 Braves, on June 22. Stanky resigned after one game, and Ryan served as interim manager for six games (with Texas winning two) from June 23 to 27. The Rangers signed Billy Hunter, the longtime Baltimore Orioles third-base coach, as their permanent manager. Ryan's career managerial mark was 11–22 (.333). He remained a Rangers' coach through 1979.
During the 1960s, Ryan also spent several seasons as a scout and minor league manager with the Houston Astros and briefly worked with the Kansas City A's.
