Kaline was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland. His family was poor. Several relatives played semi-pro baseball, but no one in his family had graduated from high school. When he was eight years old, Kaline developed osteomyelitis and had a segment of bone removed from his left foot.

In 1970 Kaline was nearly a victim of a freak accident on the baseball field. On May 30, 1970, in a game at Milwaukee's County Stadium, Kaline collided with center fielder Jim Northrup as they both pursued a flyball. Kaline fell to the warning track injured. Alertly, left fielder Willie Horton rushed over and quickly recognized that Kaline was turning blue. Horton reached in and cleared Kaline's airway, saving his life. After hitting .294 in 1971, Kaline became the first Tiger to sign a $100,000 ($604,273 in today's dollars) contract. He had turned down a pay raise from $95,000 to $100,000 the previous year, saying he did not feel like he deserved it after hitting .278 with 21 home runs in 1970. Detroit contended all season for the 1972 pennant, trailing the Red Sox by a half-game before a series against them to end the regular season. Kaline batted eight times in two games, registering five hits and three runs scored. Detroit won those first two games and clinched the AL East pennant. They lost the ALCS to the Oakland Athletics that year after Reggie Jackson stole home in the final game of the series. In March 1973, Kaline won the Roberto Clemente Award in recognition of the honor he brought to baseball on and off the field. On September 24, 1974, Kaline became the 12th player in MLB history to reach the 3000 hit plateau, when he hit a double off the Orioles' Dave McNally. After reaching the milestone, he announced that he would retire. "I'm glad it's over. I really am. I don't think I'll miss it. I may miss spring training", Kaline said after his last game on October 3. He finished his career with 3,007 hits (25th on the all-time list), 399 home runs (a Tigers record and 43rd on the all-time list), 1,622 runs scored, and 1,582 RBIs. He batted over .300 nine times in his career to finish with a lifetime batting average of .297 and hit 25 or more home runs seven times in his career. He also holds Tiger career records for games played (2,834), walks (1,277) and sacrifice flies (104).

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