Texas Christian University Development

Forrest Kline was born in Gregory, Texas, in 1917. He followed his older brother, George, to TCU after George was a star running back with the 1935 National Championship team. Forrest started school that fall and earned his scholarship while working with future Frog Heisman Trophy winner Davey O'Brien to clean the Little Gym every week. Kline played tackle and guard as a freshman and was an All-SWC guard by his senior year when he helped the Frogs win another National Championship. The younger Kline also played in the first ever Cotton Bowl in 1937. The Brooklyn Dodgers drafted Kline in 1939, but the $160 per game offer was not appealing to him. Instead, he found more reward in coaching and teaching. Plus, he could earn a little more money than he could by playing professional football. He graduated with his education degree and spent the next several decades coaching, teaching and serving as an administrator in Texas school districts. His first coaching job was in Shamrock, Texas, where he taught and coached for three years before joining the Air Force for four years. He and Freda Holmes, a Shamrock native, were married in 1942, and when Kline got out of the Air Force in December of 1945, he returned to coaching and teaching, this time in Austin. In the fall of 1961, Forrest retired from coaching and went into administration for Austin ISD until his retirement in 1983. The Kline's son, David, attended TCU and also played football, while their daughter, Martha, attended TCU for two years and married TCU Hall of Fame member Ross Montgomery.