Spangler was born and raised in Fayetteville, West Virginia. He attended Fayetteville High School, where he excelled in football, baseball and track and field. He graduated in 1960 and enrolled at then West Virginia Tech.
He became a member of the Tech football team under head coach Charlie Cobb. On the field, he started at linebacker and played offensive running back. He also returned punts and kickoffs during the years 1961 through 1964. Spangler received his degree from West Virginia Tech in 1975.
Spangler also had a very successful amateur boxing career, winning Golden Glove Championships in the welterweight and middleweight divisions in 1965, 1966 and 1967. During a stint in the United States Army with the 101st Airborne Division, Spangler earned a position on the US Armed Forces Boxing Team, where he fought alongside the likes of Ken Norton, former Heavyweight Champion of the World. During that time he won the Third Army Division Boxing Championship in his weight division. Spangler is a member of the West Virginia Boxing Hall of Fame.
His high school coaching career began in 1976 when he accepted the assistant football coaching position at Midland Trail High School. Frank returned to his alma mater, Fayetteville High School, as head football coach in 1978, where he compiled a 220-151 mark and participated in the post-season playoffs 14 times, claiming the State Single A Football Championship in 1992.
Spangler’s coaching produced 46 First-Team All-State football players in addition to numerous Second-Team and Honorable Mention players. He was voted the Coalfield Conference Coach of the Year six times and the West Virginia Coaches Association Football Coach of the Year in 1992.
In 2015, Fayetteville High School renamed their playing fields “Frank Spangler, Jr. Field,” honoring his more than 30 years at the helm of the team.
He retired from teaching and coaching in 2014, however, he continues to serve, on a voluntary basis, as an assistant with the Fayetteville High School football team. He still resides in Fayetteville, West Virginia where he is active in the church and enjoys sports from the comfort of his home.
