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Former Giants shortstop Spencer dead at 88
- Updated: January 4, 2017
SAN FRANCISCO — Daryl Spencer, who hit the first home run in San Francisco Giants history, died Monday, according to a report in the Wichita Eagle. He was 88.
Playing shortstop and batting sixth, Spencer went deep against Los Angeles right-hander Don Drysdale with one out in the fourth inning at Seals Stadium in the inaugural Major League game on the West Coast. The date was April 15, 1958, less than a year after the Giants and Dodgers announced plans to leave New York for California.
Some observers might have considered the initial homer of this new era more authentic had it been hit by a veteran slugger such as Duke Snider, Gil Hodges or Willie Mays — all of whom started that game.
However, it was no fluke.
Ahead of his time, Spencer was among relatively few middle infielders who possessed legitimate power. He belted 11 or more home runs in each of his first seven full Major League seasons (1953, 1956-61). Spencer had one of his best years during the Giants’ first San Francisco campaign in …
