The end of the 1993 season saw two of the toughest dudes in Major League history hang up the cleats for good.

That’s when both George Brett and Nolan Ryan walked away from the diamond for the last time. While the two might have played different positions, and have very different backgrounds — Nolan the gunslinger from Texas, and Brett born in West Virginia and raised in California — the tandem embodied a certain working-man toughness that epitomized an entire era of baseball.

Surely, it’s easy to find the great videos and images, of Nolan beating down Robin Ventura, or pitching with a blood-soaked jersey and lower lip. And, yeah, the Brett pinetar-nutty is always among the first historic baseball highlights on any retrospective show.

These guys were so much more than those highlight moments. Not only does Brett still deserve a seat at the “Greatest Hitter of All Time” table, and The Ryan Express still holds records that will never be touched, but these guys represent a bigger move.

Fact is, both Nolan and George were the kinds of dudes that looked like your crazy uncles who, at the drop of a hat, would box your ears and give you a Charlie Horse at a July 4 picnic — just because they wanted you to know they were stronger than you.

And, honestly, that kind of uncle is terrifying.

So when these two Scary Uncles walked away in 1993, I think a whole era of new baseball players breathed a sigh of relief. (Yeah, I guess I’m looking at you, Robin Ventura.)