Spencer, Original Giant, Passes Away

Since relocating to the City by the Bay 59 years ago, the San Francisco Giants franchise has accumulated hundreds upon hundreds of long balls, but only one man can rightfully claim to have hit the first.

Daryl Spencer, the first Giant to homer upon the team’s relocation to San Francisco, passed away Monday according to the Wichita Eagle. He was 88.

Spencer’s major league career began not in San Francisco, but on the East Coast as a 24-year-old rookie for the New York Giants. Seven of the infielder’s ten seasons in the big leagues came with the Giants organization, four in New York and two in San Francisco.

Not only did Spencer smack the team’s first home run during the franchise’s inaugural game on April 15th, 1958 at Seals Stadium, but he did so against Hall of Fame pitcher Don Drysdale of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Furthermore, Spencer’s historic long ball was the first ever hit in a state which went by Pacific Standard Time.

The middle infielder may not have the notoriety of other San Francisco sluggers from that era such as Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, and Orlando Cepeda, but Spencer didn’t carry a light bat by any means. Spencer burst onto the scene by slugging 20 home runs at the Polo Grounds in his first full season and proceeding to average roughly 15 per season during his time with the Giants. Spencer was not on New York’s roster for their championship season in 1954 nor 1955, stepping away for two seasons to serve his country.

The shortstop was again a part of San Francisco Giants history two seasons after his historic blast, playing in the team’s inaugural game at Candlestick Park in 1960, albeit as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals following a trade during the offseason.

From 1960 to 1963, Spencer played for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Cincinnati Reds in addition to the Cardinals, being traded twice more in that span. Over 379 games, he hit 38 home runs, half of which came in his first season with St. Louis.

Following a 1963 season in which he only played 57 games, Spencer took his talents to Japan where he would play for the Hankyu Braves for seven seasons. Spencer was a premier power threat during his first five seasons with Hankyu, average 30 home runs and slugging 36 and 38 in his first two seasons.

Spencer returned home to his native Wichita following his playing career, where he managed the Coors of Kansas National Baseball Congress World Series team. Kansas honored Spencer and his magnificent baseball career, inducting him into both the Kansas Baseball Hall of Fame and the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame.

Spencer’s death, unfortunately, comes almost a year after Jim Davenport, another member of the original San Francisco Giants, passed away.

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