#268 Al Spangler - Chicago Cubs

Albert Donald Spangler
Chicago Cubs
Outfield

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Left  Height:  6'0"  Weight:  175
Born:  July 8, 1933, Philadelphia, PA
Signed:  Signed by the Milwaukee Braves as an amateur free agent, June 14, 1954
Major League Teams:  Milwaukee Braves 1959-61; Houston Colt .45s 1962-64; Houston Astros 1965; Los Angeles Angels 1965; California Angels 1966; Chicago Cubs 1967-71

The original left fielder for the expansion Houston Colt .45s, Al Spangler enjoyed a 13-year big league career.  A native of Philadelphia and an All-American baseball player while at Duke University, Spangler was originally drafted by the Braves but selected by Houston in the premium phase of the 1961 expansion draft.  With Houston, Spangler was their top hitter the first two years of the team's existence and he drove in their first ever run with an RBI triple in the bottom of the first on opening day 1962.

Spangler served in a reserve role for the Cubs during the final five seasons of his career, and he coached in the Cubs system between 1971 and 1973, serving on the big league staff in 1971 and 1974.  In 912 major league games, Spangler batted .262 with 21 home runs and 175 RBIs.

Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1965 Topps blog.

Building the Set / Card #554
December 15, 2024 from The Philly Show (Vintage Cardboard Collectibles)

On Sunday, December 15th, Doug and I attended the latest Philly Show, spaciously spread out inside Hall A of the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania.  I wrote a full show report over at The Phillies Room, including some thoughts on attending the show with our oldest son, who first graced the Philly Show floors back in 2012.

Having spent the first half hour or so pulling 98 commons and semi-stars from the neon green binder of Uncle Dick's Cards, and adding the big purchase of the day, the Rollie Fingers (#597) rookie card, and after adding a few more star cards, the remaining cash I had was starting to burn a hole in my wallet.  I had noticed the common/semi-star boxes at the tables of Vintage Cardboard Collectibles, and I found 14 more cards for our 1969 Topps set and six cards for our not-yet-officially collecting 1959 Topps set.  This is the ninth of those 14 cards.  After the obligatory dealer discount, I handed over the last of my cash, and we exited the show for the drive home.

The Card / Cubs Team Set / Accuracy Index +5

Spangler is shown posing in Shea Stadium, with a blurry Mets logo visible behind him on the ballpark's scoreboard.  His high lifetime batting average is highlighted in the write-up on the back, and the cartoon celebrates his 12 triples in 1959 while a member of the American Association's Louisville Colonels.

This card has a little more wax stain on it than I'd prefer, and had the lighting been a little better at the show, this likely would have been rejected for our set.

Accuracy Index:  Spangler's card scores a +5.

1969 Season
Now 35 years old and in a reserve role, Spangler appeared in 82 games for the Cubs, batting .211 with four home runs and 23 RBIs.  He started the season hot, batting .351 as late as May 12th, but a prolonged slump saw him gradually lose playing time to Jim Hickman (#63).  Spangler suffered a heal injury in June that contributed to his decline throughout the year.

1960 Topps #143

1964 Topps #406

1968 Topps #451

1970 Topps #714

1974 Topps #354

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1960 Topps #143
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (11):  1960-66, 1968-70, 1974
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1978 TCMA The 1960s I #171
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards:  66 in the Beckett online database as of 8/17/25.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia

Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database
1965 Topps Blog

#267 Vicente Romo - Cleveland Indians / #269 Al Weis - New York Mets