Harold Stewart Spindel (May 27, 1913 – July 28, 2002) was an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the ( home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the ca ...

who played in 85 games in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

as a member of the

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they p ...

() and Philadelphia Phillies (–). He was born in

Chandler, Oklahoma Chandler ( sac, Chêninêheki) is a city in, and the county seat of, Lincoln County, Oklahoma, United States. and is part of the Oklahoma City Metropolitan Area. The population was 3,100 at the 2010 census, an increase over the figure of 2,842 in ...

, but graduated from John C. Frémont High School in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

and played baseball for

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

. Spindel threw and batted right-handed, stood tall and weighed . His professional baseball career began in 1934 in the Pacific Coast League. After five years with

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

, he spent the entire 1939 campaign with the Browns of the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

as the club's third-string catcher, playing in 48 games and starting 26. Three more full years in the

minor leagues Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in No ...

followed, then he missed the 1943 season. In 1945, he appeared in 36 games for the Phillies, starting 25, third-most on the team. He got into one more MLB contest for Philadelphia, on June 9, 1946, and played in the minors through 1947. Hal Spindel died at age 89 in San Clemente, California, on July 28, 2002.

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1913 births 2002 deaths Baseball players from Los Angeles Baseball players from Oklahoma Los Angeles Angels (minor league) players Major League Baseball catchers Ogden Reds players People from Chandler, Oklahoma Philadelphia Phillies players St. Louis Browns players Seattle Indians players Seattle Rainiers players Toledo Mud Hens players UCLA Bruins baseball players John C. Fremont High School alumni {{US-baseball-catcher-1910s-stub