1962 Topps #556 Al Spangler
About Al Spangler
Number 556 lands in the seventh and final series of 1962, the high numbers, so this is a genuinely tough card to run down. It caught Spangler at the best moment of his career. He started the Colt .45s' first major league game on April 10, 1962, in center field and batting second, then tripled in the bottom of the first off Don Cardwell to score Bob Aspromonte with the first run the franchise ever scored. He hit .285 in 129 games that summer, one point behind Roman Mejias for the club batting lead, and nearly beat the pennant-chasing Dodgers by himself on September 25 with a run, an RBI triple and an extra-inning home run.
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
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 314 | 0 | 15 | 170 | 90 | 32 | 6 | 1 | 0 |
| SGC | 38 | 0 | 4 | 15 | 14 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Graded population — a scarcity guide, not a price. Snapshot 2026-09-24. Half-grades fold down (8.5→8), and PSA's qualified grades are counted separately from the straight-grade rows shown here. Slabs of the three cards printed #139 are joined by description, never by number alone. PSA registers the green tints as a separate set; a tint's population is listed under that state of the card it belongs to.
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Related cards
More Houston Colt .45's cards:
- #12 Harry Craft
- #23 Norm Larker
- #44 Don Taussig
- #74 Bob Lillis
- #126 Al Cicotte
- #156 Merritt Ranew
- #177 Bobby Shantz
- #204 Johnny Weekly
- #227 Bobby Tiefenauer
- #248 Bob Aspromonte
- #278 Ken Johnson
- #304 Dick Farrell
- #332 Don Buddin
- #354 Roman Mejias
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1962 Topps #556 card?
It is card #556 of the 600-card 1962 Topps Baseball set, picturing Al Spangler of the Houston Colt .45's.
Why is #556 harder to find?
It is a high number card (cards 523-598) from the seventh print series, distributed last and in the smallest quantity - the toughest cards in the set and home to all 42 short prints and the Rookie Parade.
How many cards are in the 1962 Topps Baseball set?
600 cards, tracked as 708 collectible states. The numbers run from 1 to 598 with no gaps, but three different cards were printed #139 - two Hal Reniff poses, catalogued 139a and 139b, and the Babe Hits 60 Babe Ruth Special, 139c - so 598 numbers make 600 cards; 93 cards carry catalogued print variations, the series-2 green tints among them, that the master set counts separately.
Sources: Baseball Almanac, Trading Card Database, PSA CardFacts, Cardboard Connection, BaseballCardPedia, 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 2026-10-03.