Albert Donald Spangler (born July 8, 1933) is a retired American

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catch ...

and

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of Athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

. Spangler appeared in 912

games A game is a Structure, structured type of play (activity), play usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an Educational game, educational tool. Many games are also considered to be Work (human activity), work (such as p ...

in the majors between and for the

Milwaukee Braves The Milwaukee Braves were a Major League Baseball club that played in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, from 1953 to 1965, having previously played in Boston, Massachusetts, as the Boston Braves. After relocating to Atlanta, Georgia, in 1966 they were rename ...

, Houston Colt .45s / Astros, Los Angeles / California Angels, and

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

. Born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, he threw and batted left-handed, and was listed as tall and .

High school and college career

Spangler, nicknamed "Spanky", attended

Olney High School The Olney Charter High School, formerly the Aspira Charter School at Olney, and Olney High School, is a public high school that is located in the Olney section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Previously part of the School District of Philadelph ...

. After turning down a professional contract offer from the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

, he was slated to attend

Lafayette College Lafayette College is a private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Easton, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1826 by James Madison Porter and other citizens in Easton, the college first held classes in 18 ...

Easton, Pennsylvania Easton is a city in and the county seat of Northampton County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city's population was 28,127 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Easton is located at the confluence of the Lehigh River and the Delawa ...

, with a full scholarship, but decided to attend

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

. He was an All-American college selection after his junior year as Blue Devil, thanks to his .406

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

Professional career

Not quite four weeks before his 21st birthday, Spangler signed as a free agent with the Braves on June 14, 1954. He made his

MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

debut on September 16, , and would go on to play his final game on September 11, . After spending both and as a reserve outfielder for Milwaukee, Spangler was drafted by the Houston Colt .45s as a premium selection in the

1961 Major League Baseball expansion draft The 1961 MLB expansion draft was held by Major League Baseball on October 10, 1961, to fill the rosters of the New York Mets and the Houston Colt .45s, the new franchises which would enter the league in the 1962 season. The pool of players out o ...

. He was the Colt .45s' starting

center fielder A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball and softball fielding position between left field and right field. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the ...

in the club's first major-league game, played against the Cubs on April 10, . Batting second in the order, he drove in the first

run Run(s) or RUN may refer to: Places * Run (island), one of the Banda Islands in Indonesia * Run (stream), a stream in the Dutch province of North Brabant People * Run (rapper), Joseph Simmons, now known as "Reverend Run", from the hip-hop group ...

in franchise history with a RBI

triple Triple is used in several contexts to mean "threefold" or a " treble": Sports * Triple (baseball), a three-base hit * A basketball three-point field goal * A figure skating jump with three rotations * In bowling terms, three strikes in a row * I ...

in the bottom of the first

inning In baseball, softball, and similar games, an inning is the basic unit of play, consisting of two halves or frames, the "top" (first half) and the "bottom" (second half). In each half, one team bats until three outs are made, with the other tea ...

off Cubs'

starting pitcher In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pit ...

Don Cardwell Donald Eugene Cardwell (December 7, 1935 – January 14, 2008) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) right-handed pitcher who played for five National League (NL) teams from 1957 to 1970. He was the first pitcher in major league history to ...

, knocking in teammate

Bob Aspromonte Robert Thomas Aspromonte (born June 19, 1938) is an American former professional baseball player and business entrepreneur. He played as a third baseman in Major League Baseball in and then from to , most prominently as a member of the newly f ...

. His .285 mark during the Colt .45s' maiden season was second by .001 to fellow outfielder

Román Mejías Román Mejías Gómez (August 9, 1925 – February 22, 2023) was a Cuban professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) in and from –1964 for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Houston Colt .45s and Boston Red Sox. He also p ...

' .286, but the following year Spangler was the team's batting average leader at .281 in 120 games played. After his hitting declined in both (.245) and (.214), Spangler was traded to the Angels on June 1, 1965. He appeared in only 57 games (starting 20) for the Angels over the next season and a half, and spent most of at Triple-A

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

. Released by the Angels on February 13, , Spangler signed with the Cubs as a free agent three days later. Although he spent part of 1967 and at Triple-A

Tacoma Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, southwest of Bellevue, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, northwest of Mount ...

, Spangler played the rest of his big-league tenure with the Cubs. On June 12, , he hit two

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s and drove in four runs in a 12 to 6 victory over the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...

. The Cubs released Spangler as an active player after the season and named him to

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

Leo Durocher Leo Ernest Durocher (French spelling Léo Ernest Durocher) (; July 27, 1905 – October 7, 1991), nicknamed "Leo the Lip" and "Lippy", was an American professional baseball player, manager (baseball), manager and coach (baseball), coach. He playe ...

's coaching staff for . On August 30, 1971, he was added to the team's active list, and

pinch hit In baseball, a pinch hitter (PH) is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead (not in active play); the manager may use any player who has not yet entered the game as a substitute. Unlike basketball, Am ...

five times during the month of September, garnering two

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * '' H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014, a British compilation album s ...

. That brief stint concluding his MLB career. In his 912 games played, Spangler batted .262 with 21 career home runs and 175 runs batted in. His 594 hits also included 87 doubles and 26 triples. Spangler remained with the Cubs' organization for another three seasons; he managed in their

farm system In sports, a farm team (also referred to as farm system, developmental system, feeder team, or nursery club) is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful pl ...

in 1972 and 1973, then returned to their big-league coaching staff in 1974 for a final season.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spangler, Al 1933 births Living people Baseball players from Philadelphia California Angels players Chicago Cubs coaches Chicago Cubs players Duke Blue Devils baseball players Evansville Braves players Houston Astros players Houston Colt .45s players Jacksonville Braves players Los Angeles Angels players Louisville Colonels (minor league) players Major League Baseball outfielders Seattle Angels players Tacoma Cubs players Wichita Braves players