George Spriggs, a part-time outfielder the Pirates and Royals in the late-1960s, passed away on December 22, 2020 at age 83.
Spriggs was one of a handful of players who appeared on 3 or more Topps Rookie Stars cards in the 1960s. After showing up as a Pirate rookie in '67, a Red Sox rookie in '68, and a Royals rookie in '69, he finally received his own card in the 1971 set:
After playing in the Negro Leagues, Spriggs was signed by the Pirates in 1963 and had 9-game stints at the tail end of the '65 and '66 seasons. Most of his playing time with the Pirates was in the first half of 1967, until he was sent down for the second half and all of 1968.
Resurfacing with the expansion Royals, he played 30 games in parts of 1969 (mostly as a pinch-hitter), then returned in 1970 to get his most playing time - 51 games in April, August, and September, including starting most of the September games in right field (in place of the injured Joe Keough).
Spriggs played 2 seasons (1971-72) with the Mets' AAA team before retiring.
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