A native of Oriskany Falls, New York, at the age of 20, Spooner was signed to a contract by the Brooklyn Dodgers as an amateur free agent in 1951 and was assigned to play in Minor league baseball. Spooner\'s early minor league career was promising, but erratic. Walks were frequently a problem, as Spooner averaged a walk per inning in his first two minor league seasons. However, he also had great speed, and showed flashes of brilliance. He made his way up the Dodgers\' minor league system, compiling a fairly unimpressive 27–36 record during his first three seasons. He had a breakout year in 1954 when he won 21 games with 262 strikeouts in 238 innings for the Fort Worth Cats of the Texas League. His successful performance earned him a promotion to the Brooklyn Dodgers with one week left in the 1954 season.\n', '

Spooner made his major league debut with the Dodgers on September 22, 1954 at the age of 23. He allowed only 3 hits, all singles and, struck out 15 batters, setting a Major League Baseball record for most strikeouts by a pitcher in his major league debut. He broke the record of 13 strikeouts set by the New York Giants’ Cliff Melton on April 25, 1937. J. R. Richard tied the record in his major league debut in 1971. Spooner also set another record for pitching debuts by recording six consecutive strikeouts, striking out the side in both the 7th and 8th innings. Pete Richert (1962) is the only other pitcher to strike out six consecutive batters in his Major League debut. \n', '

Four days later, Spooner beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 1-0, striking out 12 and surrendering 4 hits. Although he only started two games for the Dodgers, Spooner, compiled two complete game shutouts, throwing 18 innings, giving up 7 total hits and no runs. His 27 strikeouts in two successive games was a National League record (not just for rookies) and was second only to Bob Feller’s 28 on the major league list.\n', '

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