1965 Topps #164 Al Spangler
About Al Spangler
Card 164 comes from the second series of 1965, a plain low number. It is the first of his Topps cards to carry the Astros name instead of Colt .45s, the club having announced the change in December 1964 ahead of its move into the Astrodome. The card outlasted his stay. Spangler opened 1965 cold at .214 in 38 games, and once Houston acquired Lee Maye his at-bats all but vanished; on June 1, 1965, the Astros traded him to the Angels for left-handed pitcher Don Lee. He batted .260 in 51 games the rest of the way.
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 | 198 | 0 | 33 | 91 | 55 | 11 | 6 | 2 | 0 |
| SGC | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Graded population — a scarcity guide, not a price. Data as of 2026-09-04. Half grades fold down for both graders (8.5→8); PSA qualified slabs (OC, ST, PD, MC and the like) are not counted. The two checklist variations, #79 and #508, are listed under the wording PSA uses for each state.
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Related cards
More Houston Astros cards:
- #16 Houston 1965 Rookie Stars
- #31 Mike White
- #48 Claude Raymond
- #80 Turk Farrell
- #109 Walt Bond
- #175 Bob Aspromonte
- #179 Hal Woodeshick
- #212 Ron Brand
- #240 Bob Bruce
- #257 Jim Wynn
- #274 Lum Harris
- #292 Larry Yellen
- #321 Rusty Staub
- #359 Ken Johnson
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1965 Topps #164 card?
It is card #164 of the 598-card 1965 Topps Baseball set, picturing Al Spangler of the Houston Astros.
Is #164 the first card with an Astros pennant?
Yes. Five earlier Houston cards (#16, 31, 48, 80, 109) carry a bare HOUSTON pennant; #164 Al Spangler is the first with an ASTROS pennant, and one late Rookie Stars card (#553) reverts to the bare banner.
How many cards are in the 1965 Topps Baseball set?
598 cards, tracked as 600 collectible states. Numbers run from 1 to 598 with no gaps and no printed-number collisions, and two checklist cards - #79 and #508 - carry catalogued print variations that the master set counts separately.
Sources: Trading Card Database, PSA CardFacts, Cardboard Connection, BaseballCardPedia, Baseball Almanac, 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 2026-10-11.