“He was one of the true role models in sports in our neighborhood.”

From his earliest involvement in youth athletics, Bud Ryan’s priority was always the children and their enjoyment in sports. For example, many of his family’s most potent memories of him detail how he would always have pages upon pages of registration forms, scheduling puzzles, rosters and phone numbers. Moreover, they also recollect how he would always be handing out flyers across the neighborhood of Roxborough to recruit more players for the league. Truly, he loved sports his entire life, with baseball, softball, and touch football as his favorites. Whether he was watching or playing, his enthusiasm was unmatched—even being involved in a “70 and over” softball league until he passed. No matter if it was the starting week of football/basketball season in the fall, or the start of baseball in the spring, you could always tell how excited he was as he counted down the days until either of them started. 

 Bud’s adventures in Roxborough sports started with the 21st Ward Little League in the mid-1970s.  During this era, there were only a few organizations that had actually been fielding teams, such as the Orioles, Giants, A's, Indians, Tigers, and Panthers. Initially, there was a limit to the number of players that could be on a team.  As a result, this led to a requirement of try-out participation in order to be considered eligible to play. Thereby, an eight-year-old with zero experience had to prove himself capable of doing so. Unfortunately, this led to many kids with the desire and drive to play, being told that they weren't good enough to do so and to try again next year; realistically, many of them would likely not return. In response, Bud challenged the league to allow multiple teams per organization. For example, two Orioles teams would mean more kids could play! One of which he would actually coach himself! His dedication was unparalleled. Specifically, his family remembers him putting together flyers, as well as going around driving in the Orioles territory, encouraging any kids playing outside to sign-up, even going as far to advocate for parents to get involved with the organization too! For further context, the Roxborough Eagles were still heavily football oriented around this time too, and Bud slowly 

began to take on more and more roles by stepping up to manage many of the smaller basketball and baseball leagues around the neighborhood, fully encouraging kids to participate in other sports and play year-round.

 After that point, his family states that the phone never stopped ringing as calls went in and out to players about games, practices, cancellations, and more. Moreover, he would spend days putting together schedules, trying to balance out games and practice with school, holidays, and so on—it was one of his least favorite things to do, but he made no complaint in doing it (and this was a time where everything was done by pen and paper.) At all times, the trunk of his car was absolutely packed. During baseball season, it would be full of bats, balls, and bases. In football season, it’d be helmets and pads, and during basketball season, it would be full of duffel bags with balls, scoreboards, whistles, boxes of jerseys and more; hardly was there ever an empty car.

Even beyond the field, Bud was an incredible man. He would always step up to take charge of something when nobody else would, and he was an incredibly kind individual. His family describes him as a jokester and as someone who would always try to make people laugh. Described as the “master of bad dad jokes”, " he never tired of pulling out his classic jokes for people he just met, same with retelling his old jokes to long-time audiences. A specific memory he was famous for was that of his "polar bear joke.” A joke he made up, that many say didn't even make sense! But, his delivery was filled with deep belly laughing and inevitably got the other person to laugh along with him, even when they were understandably confused by it and trying to figure out why he was laughing so hard. It didn't matter for him though—he laughed and laughed and laughed, and the listeners laughed along with him because he was clearly enjoying it so much, with his exuberance, it was hard not too!  His other favorite was to shake a kid's hand, and then keep on shaking and shaking and shaking, all while exclaiming to the child "Let go! Let go of my hand!" In response, the child would typically try to end the handshake, but he would continue holding on, good-naturedly begging for the child to let go. All in all, he was a big kid himself, and it made it exceptionally easy for the young ones to feel comfortable with him. Whether it was the parents, children, or staff, everybody loved him because he was exceptionally dedicated and valued everybody deeply. For such, it is no wonder that he is continuously described as always kind, positive, energetic, and encouraging.

Throughout the organization and his works, his legacy lives on, but beyond that, it lives in the countless lives he impacted. In his entire experience, he always believed in equal opportunity, and passionately prioritized the kids’ happiness and enjoyment in playing above everything. For example, he made extreme efforts to ensure all children were included and for all to get equal playing time. Skill level didn't matter for him, neither did wins, losses, or playoffs. The goal was for everyone to have the same opportunities to learn, play, have fun, and feel like a valued member of the team. He was especially proud when he could convince girls to join the league. During his day, there were fewer opportunities for girls to play ball sports back then, with co-ed sports opportunities being even sparser and rarer. For these reasons, he loved having girls join his teams and showing that their abilities were no less than that of the boys. 

Ultimately, his goal and values laid the foundation for the mission of the Roxborough Eagles Athletic Association’s practices today. Bud’s beliefs never wavered, and that as his players grew up to have kids of their own, he hoped the values he instilled and the traditions of the game would pass down to them—and he was successful! He ran the league long enough that he saw many of his players bring their kids back to play in the same league and in the same gyms. Simultaneously, he ran the league long enough that he saw many of those original kids step up and take over the league, even after he stepped away himself. All in all, and to this day, his goal lives on and the mission stays the same—that the children always come first, and that every kid should be given the opportunity to play in a no pressure environment. For kids to be able to learn and have fun and be active. 

Special thanks to the Ryan family for their exceptional support in this biography, and for continuing to support the legacy that Bud Ryan fostered for decades in his continuous support for the many kids who have made strides through this organization.

    — Brian Clark Jr.