Whoa! Check out the pompadour on Al Spangler. Do you think he used pine tar as a pomade? That's some impressive hold.
-Hailing from Philadelphia, Al played college ball at Duke University before signing with the Braves in 1954.
-Claimed by Houston in the 1961 expansion draft and was the Colt .45's' leading hitter in each of their first two seasons with OPS+ marks of 117 and 120. His nine triples in 1962 and 25 doubles in 1963 were both tops on the club, and he walked 120 times against just 84 strikeouts.
-Drove in the first run in Colts/Astros history with an RBI triple on April 10, 1962, plating Bob Aspromonte.
-On April 14, 1965, Spangler stole home in the top of the 11th to give the Astros the eventual winning run in a 7-6 victory against (who else?) the Mets.
-Jack Hamilton was probably not his favorite pitcher; Al went 0-for-15 with three walks against Hamilton in his career!
-Despite a reputation as a slap hitter, six of his 21 career home runs led off a game.
-After a brief stay with the Angels, returned to the National League as a bench player and sometimes coach for the Cubs (1967-1971).
-Had a career day on June 12, 1969, going 3-for-5 with 4 RBI and his only two-homer game in the Cubs' 12-6 win over Atlanta.
-Retired in 1971 with a .262 career average and .347 on-base percentage in parts of 13 seasons.
Have you checked out the '66 version of this pompadour? Even better.
ReplyDeleteSaw him play at Duke and later for Cubs--gave good interview with Jack Brickhouse.
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