1969

Ron Kline was born on March 9, 1932 in Callery, Pennsylvania. He attended Evans City High School and was notably vice president of the Senior English Club. He also lettered in football and track, but not baseball. Nonetheless, his talents as a pitcher were known locally, playing for a town team. On graduation from his school in May 1950, he was signed to a pro contract by the Pittsburgh Pirates. 

The Pirates sent him to Bartlesville, Okla. In a partial season he spent there, Ron worked in 12 games, starting eight of them. He was invited back for his first full season of pro ball in 1951. That year, he was an All-Star, his 18-4 record leading the league in wins.

It was quite a leap to the big leagues, Class D to the Pittsburgh Pirates, but he debuted in the majors in April 1952. It was far from an auspicious start to a career. He was 0-7 with a 5.49 ERA and didn’t win another professional ballgame until 1955. He spent the years of 1953 and 1954 in the United States Army during the Korean War and was stationed at Camp Breckenridge in Kentucky and at Aberdeen, Maryland.

In 1956, Ron was second on the Pirates in wins. The 1957 season started disastrously. He was again 0-7, and that was just through the end of May. He reeled off six wins in a row, and finished with a much more respectable 9-16. He pitched two more seasons for the Pirates in the 1950s.

In December 1959, he was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals and had expressed some frustration that he wasn’t being used as much in 1959. In 1960, he appeared in 34 games for the third-place Cardinals. 

Right around the turn of the year, he suffered a hunting accident when a brass shell exploded lodging two pieces of brass in his right eye and one in his left eye. Fortunately, the three fragments were removed without damage to his eyesight.

Just before the 1961 season began, the Cardinals cut him from their roster in April and sold him to the Los Angeles Angels. In August, he was sold to the Detroit Tigers. He spent the next season with the Tigers, too, but after the season, he joined the Tigers on an exhibition tour to Japan, and at least briefly contemplated playing there, but wound up signing again with Detroit.

During spring training 1963, he was sold to the Washington Senators. For the next four seasons, he was a Senator and they got themselves a bargain. Only in 1966 did another Washington pitcher work in more games. In 1965, his 29 saves led the American League.

After the 1966 season, the Minnesota Twins traded for him. The Twins finished in second place, as they had the year before, though only after losing the final two games of the season to the "Impossible Dream" Red Sox. 

He was 7-0 coming into those final two games in Boston. Relieving in the bottom of the sixth of the September 30th game, the first batter Ron faced was George Scott, who homered to give the Red Sox a 3-2 edge. In the seventh, with one out and a man of first base, he fielded a routine comeback to the mound that should have been an easy double play, but the Twins’ shortstop dropped the ball and both runners were safe.  Carl Yastrzemski then hit a three-run homer and Ron had lost that penultimate game.

In 1968, he was back home pitching for the Pirates and shared the closing duties. After a superb season, his baseball career somewhat rapidly wound down, though in February 1969, he began another career when he bought a tavern in his hometown of Callery.

In 1969, Ron pitched for three teams. He started the season with the Pirates and in June, he was traded to the San Francisco Giants. After less than a month, he was sold to the Red Sox for the $25,000 waiver price. For the Red Sox, he appeared in 16 games and was 0-1 with a 4.76 earned run average. 

After the season the Red Sox sold his contract outright to Louisville, to free up roster space, but they invited him to spring training in 1970. He came early, and had worked hard to get in shape. But at the end of March, the Red Sox gave him his unconditional release.

The Atlanta Braves then signed him to supplement their bullpen. He worked in three May games and two in June. At the end of June, the Braves asked for waivers, for the purpose of giving him his unconditional release. Ron pitched for a while for the Hawaii Islanders of the Pacific Coast League, appearing in 15 games. 

The following February, he announced his retirement from baseball and his candidacy as a Republican for the Butler County Register and Recorder. He was unsuccessful in that race, but later served as mayor of Callery for a number of years.

Ron pursued a number of other occupations. He sold cars for a while and he coached baseball locally for a while, working with an age group that was older than Little League.

Ron Kline had suffered from diabetes and congestive heart failure and passed away in his home at Callery, Pennsylvania, on June 22, 2002 at age 70.