Karl Spooner

Karl Benjamin Spooner

• Bats Right, Throws Left
• Height 6' 0", Weight 185 lb.
• High School Oriskany Falls High School
• Debut September 22, 1954
• Final Game September 17, 1955
• Born June 23, 1931 in Oriskany Falls, NY USA
• Died April 10, 1984 in Vero Beach, FL USA

BR page

Biographical Information

". . . the greatest young pitcher I’ve ever seen" - Roy Campanella, after seeing Karl Spooner's debut performance in the majors

Pitching for the Brooklyn Dodgers, Karl Spooner set the record for most strikeouts in a debut, with 15 against the New York Giants on September 22, 1954. J.R. Richard now shares that record. He then struck out 12 against the Pittsburgh Pirates in the next game. Both games were shutouts and those were his only two major league outings his first season.

He had some arm troubles in 1955 after hurting his shoulder in spring training, but managed to go 8-6 with an 3.65 ERA and 2 saves. He even hit .286. He appeared in 2 World Series games, losing his only start in Game 6, in the year when the Dodgers finally won the World Series. They were his last major league appearances, due to his arm problems.

In the minors, he had notable performances going 11-6 in a partial season with the Pueblo Dodgers in 1953 and going 21-9 with the Fort Worth Cats of the Texas League in 1954 (and then winning two more with the Dodgers at the tail end of that season).

After baseball, he worked as a packing-house manager for the Haffield Citrus Corporation and lived in Vero Beach, FL. He died from liver cancer at the age of 52.

Notable Achievement

• Won a World Series with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1955

Related Sites

• Karl Spooner at the SABR Bio Project