born April 23, 1921, Buffalo, N.Y., U.S.
died Nov. 24, 2003, Broken Arrow, Okla.
U.S. baseball pitcher.
Spahn spent most of his career with the Boston (later Milwaukee) Braves (1942, 1946–64). He amassed 2,583 career strikeouts, giving him the third highest total in baseball history when he retired. His feat of winning 20 or more games in each of 13 seasons was also a record, as was his striking out at least 100 batters each year for 17 consecutive seasons (1947–63). His total of 363 wins established a record for left-handers. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1973.