no. 319 - ty cline

Who is the man: Ty Cline was entering his final season in the big leagues when this card arrived in packs. He had participated in his first season with the Reds -- his sixth major league team -- in 1970.

Can ya dig it: That's a rather heroic pose for a role player. The blue sky, the shot from underneath.

Right on: Final card of his career.

You see this cat Cline is a bad mother: This is the last of three cards of Cline in the 1971 set. The other two came in the NLCS subset.

Shut your mouth: Cline did enjoy a fine NLCS against the Pirates in 1970, but in the World Series, he and his team were on the wrong end of one of the more notable blown calls in history. In Game 1, with the score between the Reds and Orioles tied 3-3 and runners on first and third in the sixth inning, Cline hit a high chopper in front of the plate. Bernie Carbo ran in from third and Orioles catcher Elrod Hendricks fielded the ball and tagged Carbo with an empty glove while holding the ball in his bare hand. Umpire Ken Burkhart, who had fallen to the ground with his back to the play, called Carbo out.

No one understands him but his woman: After his career, Cline became a baseball club owner, taking over the Pirates' affiliate in his hometown of Charleston, in the Western Carolina League. Cline, who went in on the project with friend Bill Edwards, was told at the time that he was the first former MLB player to own a minor league team.

(A word about the back): Nice work by Topps getting in Cline's feats from the postseason. You'd think they would have that anyway because of the NLCS cards that appeared earlier in the set, but sometimes I think bios were written super early in the process.