Nolan Ryan Snow Monkey Giveaway

Snow monkeys will be running wild on August 4 at The Dell Diamond when the first 2,000 fans to enter will receive the stuffed animal. It is part of a first time promotion that has spawned from Nolan Ryan's position as the Unofficial Snow Monkey Ambassador.

Native to Japan snow monkeys are traditionally inhabits of colder climates. But in 1972, a group of about 150 snow monkeys were relocated from Kyoto, Japan to an observatory in Southwest Texas. Eventually the snow monkeys adapted to the drastically different conditions and were not heard from until the mid 90's.

One of Ryan's neighbors came before the Texas Parks & Wildlife Commission and spoke of the problems the snow monkeys were causing. They were running loose onto highways as well as being the target of hunters in the area. Ryan was part of the commission at the time and because he had a little knowledge of them he was named the Unofficial Snow Monkey Ambassador.

The story resurfaced in 2008 when Dallas radio station 1310 The Ticket interviewed Ryan about his experiences with snow monkeys. The interview had listeners laughing deliriously and created a snow monkey craze. Here is a link to the interview Click here.

For the last two seasons Texas Rangers director of in-park entertainment Chuck Morgan had been pushing for a snow monkey promotion. Finally this season, the Rangers teamed up with Chicken Express to sponsor a Snow Monkey Night. On July 1, the first 13,000 fans to enter the Rangers Ballpark in Arlington received the stuffed animal.

Ryan's son and Express CEO and founder, Reid Ryan, thought it seemed like a natural fit to do the same promotion in Round Rock. As a result, on August 4 the first 2,000 fans to enter will receive a stuffed snow monkey, courtesy of Chicken Express.

As part of the promotion the Express will be putting on the Snow Monkey Challenge. On Saturday July 28, ten of the same snow monkeys being given away a week later will be placed in secret locations around the Round Rock area. At 10 a.m. on the 28th clues leading to the hidden snow monkey's locations will be posted on the Express Facebook and Twitter sites.

The challenge will be to try and solve the clues and find the hidden snow monkeys. Each winner will receive two tickets to the August 4 Express game against the Tucson Padres at 7:05 p.m. CDT. During the game the winners will be presented before the crowd as Snow Monkey Ambassadors.