Alan Kline entered his first track meet at the age of 14. He won the 50 and 100 yard dashes in the Junior Olympics at Franklin Field. Later, in 1949, Kline won three events at the Maccabiah at Northeast High, which celebrated the first anniversary of Israel. In his senior year at Central High School in 1951, Kline won the Public High and City Championships in the 100 yard dash and low hurdles. He also won both events in the Penn Invitational against champions from the Catholic, Suburban, Inter Academic and South Jersey Leagues. He was Co-Captain of the Central High team which won both the Public League and City titles. At Central, Kline played halfback on the football team and was a pinch runner for the baseball team. His class voted him Best Athlete.

Kline entered the University of Pennsylvania in 1952. In his first indoor race in Boston, he beat Lindy Remigino, the Olympic champion. The following year, he was Ivy League indoor champion in the 60 yard dash. Later, he won the 100 and 220 dashes at Cornell, and joined them in London against Oxford-Cambridge, where he won gold and silver medals. He later traveled to Ireland, where he won 100 yard dashes in both Dublin and Belfast.

Kline was second in the Invitation 100 in the Penn Relays. He was a consistent scorer for Penn in the dashes, and on outstanding relay teams. His official times of 9.7 in the 100 dash and 21.2 in the 220 dash are still among the all time bests at Penn. Kline also played for the Sprint (150) football team in his senior year and scored a few touchdowns in a winning season.

After graduation in 1957, Kline ran for the United States Maccabiah Team in Israel. He won three medals, including a gold in a record-setting 400 meter relay. Kline continued his interest in track as a Penn Relays official and was honored for over 40 years of service.