Batting average .262 Role Baseball player Name Al Spangler | Runs batted in 175 Home runs 21 | |
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Albert Donald "Spanky" Spangler (born July 8, 1933, in Philadelphia) is a retired American Major League Baseball outfielder.
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College career
After turning down an offer from the Chicago White Sox, Spangler was slated to attend Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania, with a full scholarship. Spangler decided to attend Duke University. He was an All-American college selection after his junior year, due to a .406 batting average.
Professional career
He was signed as a free agent by the Milwaukee Braves on June 14, 1954. He made his debut on September 16, 1959, and would go on to play his final game on September 11, 1971.
Spangler was drafted by the Houston Colt .45s as a premium selection in the 1961 Major League Baseball expansion draft and led the .45's in hitting their first two seasons. In the Colt .45s' first game against the Chicago Cubs, Spangler drove in the first run in Houston baseball history with a RBI triple in the bottom of the 1st inning off Cubs starter Don Cardwell, driving in teammate Bob Aspromonte.
On June 12, 1969, Spangler hit two home runs and drove in four runs to help lift his Cubs to a 12 to 6 victory over the Atlanta Braves.
Spangler was traded by Houston to the California Angels during the 1965 season. He signed with the Chicago Cubs as a free agent prior to the 1967 season, playing for that team through 1971.
Following his active career, he was a coach (1971 and 1974) and minor league manager (1972–73) for the Chicago Cubs.