Step inside the new Nolan Ryan exhibit at the Alvin Historical Museum

ALVIN, Texas (KTRK) -- The Nolan Ryan Center, which sat on the campus of Alvin Community College for two decades, contained many artifacts from Nolan Ryan's early days, playing career, and post-retirement life.

The facility moved its contents to the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in Waco in 2016, which meant Alvin no longer had a museum-style exhibition honoring its favorite son.

That changed when the Alvin Historical Museum opened its Nolan Ryan exhibit earlier this year.

"We worked on this exhibit for a little over two years," said Tom Stansel of the Alvin Museum Society. "Nolan Ryan, as well as his family, is very important to this community."

The collection consists of items that didn't make the move to Waco. But the Ryan family wanted to make sure the exhibit had access to some never-before-seen artifacts.

"We mainly worked with Ruth Ryan," said Stansel. "I had boxes of photographs that she sent over."

There are baseball items like the jersey Nolan wore in his final game, gifts he received for winning the 1969 World Series with the New York Mets, and the home plate he pitched to in Little League.

The exhibit also details his early life in Alvin, his time in the military, and even his famous training regimen that kept Ryan playing baseball into his 40s.

Stansel hopes everything in the exhibit comes together to tell the main story the museum is trying to tell.

"We are trying to emphasize his character," Stansel explained. "That's what's important to us - for both him and his family."

You can learn more about the exhibit, as well as the Alvin Historical Museum, by visiting AlvinMuseum.org.