[8] He married twice: to Martha Elizabeth Hollman (1878–1936) in 1897 (they were divorced in 1905),[9] and to Blanche Stella Dolphin (1884–1952), on 15 February 1913.

[10][11] Ryan, a rover and forward, spent 1893, 1895 and 1896 playing in the Victorian Football Association (VFA) for both Carlton and Richmond.

[13] On his VFL debut, Ryan kicked five goals as Melbourne defeated St Kilda by 93 points at the MCG on 13 May 1899.

[14] He was the club's leading goal-kicker in their premiership year of 1900 with 24 goals, one of those in the 1900 VFL Grand Final which he played from a forward pocket.

He was part of the VFL team that played Interstate Football against South Australia, in Adelaide, on 26 June 1902.