In 1938, McSpaden played in the second Bing Crosby Pro-Am and was partnered with Eddie Lowery, who had been the caddy of Francis Ouimet in the 1913 U.S. Open.

McSpaden was named to the U.S. Ryder Cup team in 1939, but the event was cancelled that year due to the outbreak of World War II.

Other members of the Ryder Cup team that year included: Byron Nelson, Ralph Guldahl, Paul Runyan, Dick Metz, Craig Wood, Horton Smith, Walter Hagen, Sam Snead, and honorary captain Vic Ghezzi.

McSpaden was also a member of the Ryder Cup team in 1941, 1942, and 1943; but during those years only exhibition matches were played as fundraisers for the war effort.

Between 1942 and 1944 McSpaden and Byron Nelson, both of whom were rejected from the military for health reasons,[2] made 110 exhibition fundraising appearances for the Red Cross and USO.

McSpaden was the first pro golfer to shoot a 59 on a par 71 course (Brackenridge Park Golf Club, San Antonio, Texas) in 1939.

Their car had been left running in the attached garage and the police ruled the deaths accidental carbon monoxide poisonings.