Al Spangler

Albert Donald Spangler (born July 8, 1933) is an American former Major League Baseball outfielder and coach. Spangler appeared in 912 games in the majors between and for the Milwaukee Braves, Houston Colt .45s / Astros, Los Angeles / California Angels, and Chicago Cubs. Born in Philadelphia, he threw and batted left-handed, and was listed as tall and .

High school and college career Spangler, nicknamed "Spanky", attended Philadelphia's Olney High School. After turning down a professional contract offer from the Chicago White Sox, he was slated to attend Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania, with a full scholarship, but decided to attend Duke University. He was an All-American college selection after his junior year as Blue Devil, thanks to his .406 batting average.

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 debut on September 16, , and would go on to play his final game on September 11. His .285 mark during the Colt .45s' maiden season was second by .001 to fellow outfielder Román Mejías' .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. 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, Spangler played the rest of his big-league tenure with the Cubs. On June 12, , he hit two home runs and drove in four runs in a 12 to 6 victory over the Atlanta Braves.

The Cubs released Spangler as an active player after the season and named him to manager Leo Durocher's coaching staff for . On August 30, 1971, he was added to the team's active list, and pinch hit five times during the month of September, garnering two hits. 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 1972 and 1973, then returned to their big-league coaching staff in 1974 for a final season.