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Ronald Lee Kline
Pittsburgh Pirates
Pitcher
Born: March 9, 1932, Callery, PA
Signed: Signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates as an amateur free agent before 1950 season
Major League Teams: Pittsburgh Pirates 1952, 1955-1959; St. Louis Cardinals 1960; Los Angeles Angels 1961; Detroit Tigers 1961-1962; Washington Senators 1963-1966; Minnesota Twins 1967; Pittsburgh Pirates 1968-1969; San Francisco Giants 1969; Boston Red Sox 1969; Atlanta Braves 1970
Died: June 22, 2002, Callery, PA (age 70)
A veteran of 17 big league seasons and 736 career appearances, Ron Kline enjoyed a career as a dependable reliever for 10 different teams. His longest stint with any one team came at the beginning of his career with the Pirates, his hometown team, where he pitched for eight seasons primarily as a starting pitcher. Kline missed two seasons early in his career due to military service in 1953 and 1954. Despite his record of 14-18, 1956 was probably his best season as he started 39 games and had an ERA of 3.38. It wasn't tracked at the time, but his WAR for pitchers in 1956 (4.9) was fourth in the N.L. behind Johnny Antonelli (#138), Bob Friend (#221) and Warren Spahn (#10).
As a reliever later in his career, Kline finished in the top ten in saves four times, topping the A.L. leaders list in 1965 with 29 saves for the Senators. After retiring from baseball, Kline returned to his hometown of Callery, PA where he served as the town's mayor for several years.
Building the Set
October 10, 1998 in Winston-Salem, NC - Card #165
This was one of ten cards I purchased for our 1956 Topps set from the Season Ticket baseball card store in Winston-Salem. This card cost me $4, and I wrote about Season Ticket in detail back in March 2019 in my post for the Rudy Minarcin (#36) card.
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| 1955 Topps #173 |
That's not Ron Kline's facsimile autograph on the front of the card. "J. Robert Kline" is actually Bobby Kline who appeared in 77 games for the 1955 Senators, his only year in the majors. Bobby Kline's only baseball card appearance came within the 1955 Topps set, and Topps correctly uses his signature on that card. Topps used Ron Kline's actual signature on his 1959 and 1967 cards. Also, he's Ronnie in 1956, 1957 and 1958, but then he graduates to Ron beginning with his 1959 Topps card.
The back of his card makes mention of the Pirates being his hometown team and his two years of military service. His 18-4 season in 1951 came with the Bartlesville Pirates, the Class D team for the major league club, located in Oklahoma.
Pirates Team Set
1956 Season
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First Mainstream Card: 1953 Topps #175
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (15): 1953, 1956-1969
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1991 Topps Archives 1953 #175
Kline's last three Topps flagship baseball cards, from 1967, 1968 and 1969, feature almost identical (and hatless) photos with Kline looking in slightly different directions.
58 - Kline non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 2/14/20.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database
In some cases, the first and last cards listed above are subjective and chosen by me if multiple cards were released within the same year. Most recent mainstream card may also be subjective and does not include extremely low serial numbered cards, buybacks or cut autograph cards.
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Order Collected: #92 "Red" Wilson - Detroit Tigers / #95 Milwaukee Braves Team Card
I've seen Kline's name before, but wasn't too familiar with him. Always cool to see another MLB player take time away from playing baseball to serve our country. And it's not everyday you get to see a grenade on the back of a baseball cards.
ReplyDeleteImagine having a bullpen with Elroy Face and Ronnie Kline!
ReplyDeletePirates team set is coming along nicely!
ReplyDeletehttps://1956topps.blogspot.com/p/pittsburgh-pirates.html