1961 Topps #73 Al Spangler
About Al Spangler
Card 73 sits in the opening series of the 1961 set, an ordinary low number. It shows Spangler in the Milwaukee flannels he was about to shed. He spent 1961 as a spare outfielder, 68 games of late-inning defense and pinch-hitting at a .268 clip, while Hank Aaron, Wes Covington, Lee Maye, Frank Thomas and Mack Jones soaked up the everyday work on a club that had gone to back-to-back World Series in 1957 and 1958. On October 10, 1961, Houston took him in the premium phase of the National League expansion draft, its priciest tier at $125,000 a man, ending his Braves career.
Al Spangler was a left-handed-hitting, left-handed-throwing outfielder who played 13 major league seasons, 1959-1971, for the Milwaukee Braves, Houston Colt .45s/Astros, Los Angeles/California Angels, and Chicago Cubs. Born in Philadelphia in 1933, he starred at Olney High School and then at Duke University, where he was an All-American after batting .406 as a junior; his speed and pesky, table-setting hitting drew comparisons to Hall of Famer Richie Ashburn. He signed with Milwaukee in June 1954, lost two years to the Army, and reached the majors in September 1959, only to sit behind a crowded Braves outfield that always wanted more power. Houston took him in the premium phase of the October 1961 expansion draft, and he finally played every day, batting .285 and .281 in the Colt .45s' first two seasons. Part-time work followed with the Angels and Cubs, where Leo Durocher made him a bench bat. In 912 games he hit .262 with 594 hits, 87 doubles, 26 triples, 21 home runs and 175 runs batted in. He coached for Chicago in 1971, managed in its farm system in 1972 and 1973, and returned to the Cubs' coaching staff in 1974.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 413 | 0 | 67 | 235 | 80 | 18 | 8 | 5 | 0 |
| SGC | 18 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Graded population — a scarcity guide, not a price. Data as of 2026-09-04. PSA counts are straight grades only; PSA half grades (PSA 1.5 among them) and qualified slabs are not included. SGC half grades fold down (8.5→8). Slabs of the two cards printed #463 are joined by description, never by number alone.
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Related cards
Team card: #463b Milwaukee Braves Team
More Milwaukee Braves cards:
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- #61 Ron Piche
- #84 Lee Maye
- #89 Billy Martin
- #105 Carl Willey
- #120 Ed Mathews
- #137 Chuck Dressen
- #145 Bob Buhl
- #164 Felix Mantilla
- #183 Andre Rodgers
- #200 Warren Spahn
- #217 Mel Roach
- #245 Joe Adcock
- #261 Charlie Lau
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1961 Topps #73 card?
It is card #73 of the 587-card 1961 Topps Baseball set, picturing Al Spangler of the Milwaukee Braves.
How many cards are in the 1961 Topps Baseball set?
587 cards, tracked as 596 collectible states. Numbers run from 1 to 589, but #426, #587 and #588 were never issued and two different cards were printed #463 - Jack Fisher and the Milwaukee Braves Team card, catalogued 463b - and eight cards carry catalogued print variations that the master set counts separately.
Sources: Trading Card Database, PSA CardFacts, Cardboard Connection, The Topps Archives, Baseball-Reference, the SABR BioProject and the National Baseball Hall of Fame, PSA & SGC population reports. Card data compiled and maintained by T206Cards.com. Page last updated 2026-10-05.