Harold Stewart Spindel (May 27, 1913 – July 28, 2002) was an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catcher ...

who played in 85 games in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL) ...

as a member of the St. Louis Browns () and

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has been Citize ...

(–). He was born in

Chandler, Oklahoma Chandler ( sac, Chêninêheki) is a city in, and the county seat of, Lincoln County, Oklahoma, United States. and is part of the Oklahoma City Metropolitan Area. The population was 3,100 at the 2010 census, an increase over the figure of 2,842 ...

, but graduated from John C. Frémont High School in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

and played baseball for

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a Normal school, teachers colle ...

. Spindel threw and batted right-handed, stood tall and weighed . His professional baseball career began in 1934 in the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Bas ...

. After five years with

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

, he spent the entire 1939 campaign with the Browns of the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

as the club's third-string catcher, playing in 48 games and starting 26. Three more full years in the

minor leagues Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in N ...

followed, then he missed the 1943 season. In 1945, he appeared in 36 games for the Phillies, starting 25, third-most on the team. He got into one more MLB contest for Philadelphia, on June 9, 1946, and played in the minors through 1947. Hal Spindel died at age 89 in

San Clemente, California San Clemente (; Spanish for " St. Clement") is a city in Orange County, California. Located in the Orange Coast region of the South Coast of California, San Clemente's population was 64,293 in at the 2020 census. Situated roughly midway betwe ...

, on July 28, 2002.

References

External links

1913 births 2002 deaths Baseball players from Los Angeles Baseball players from Oklahoma Los Angeles Angels (minor league) players Major League Baseball catchers Ogden Reds players People from Chandler, Oklahoma Philadelphia Phillies players St. Louis Browns players Seattle Indians players Seattle Rainiers players Toledo Mud Hens players UCLA Bruins baseball players John C. Fremont High School alumni {{US-baseball-catcher-1910s-stub