After graduating with honors from Mississippi State University at the age of 19, Spain took his electrical engineering degree and ventured to Washington, D.C.
He helped with the first live television feeds which originated from the Capitol, White House, and other various historic locations, including the 1949 presidential inauguration.
In 1949, Spain joined the NBC Development Group in New York City to design television and microwave relay equipment.
In December 1953, Spain successfully petitioned the FCC to allocate channel 9 to Tupelo, and was granted a construction permit three years later.
Though many NBC executives believed Tupelo was not a desirable place for a local affiliate station because of its rural location, they told Spain that if he could figure out a way to obtain a network signal, he could carry it.
In 1959, Spain started Microwave Service Company to provide distant signals to CATV systems and network interconnects for broadcast facilities.
Because of the strategic location of these facilities, Spain joined Jack Goeken and Bill McGowan in the start-up of MCI.
Spain died at North Mississippi Medical Center in Tupelo on April 25, 2006, after a long battle with cancer.