[5][6][7][8] His father is of Russian, English and Irish ancestry, and his mother was born in Siegen, Germany; as a result of this, Spector has a German passport, which allowed him to play in England without needing a work permit.

[13] He started his club soccer career with Schwaben AC in Buffalo Grove, Illinois, before joining national power Chicago Sockers (2003).

[16] In December, United manager Sir Alex Ferguson announced that Spector would be loaned out to fellow Premier League side Blackburn Rovers for the remainder of the season.

[20] He made his debut for the club in the first round defeat of the UEFA Cup against Palermo in Sicily on September 28,[21] going on to make twenty-eight appearances in all competitions in the 2006–07 season.

[22] Spector had initially been brought as backup to the West Ham defense, but he had an extended run of games due to injury problems and his ability to play anywhere in the back four with equal ease.

[29] He made his debut in Birmingham's first match in major European competition for nearly 50 years, the Europa League play-off round first leg against Portuguese club Nacional, which finished goalless.

[35] He missed the last two months of the season with a torn thigh muscle, returning for Birmingham's unsuccessful play-off campaign only to suffer a recurrence of the injury which was to keep him out of the summer's international program.

[40] New manager Lee Clark preferred his "drive and energy" in midfield, with right-back duties shared between Packwood, loan signing Paul Caddis and others, but injuries soon forced his return to full-back.

[41][42] Spector was restricted to 10 appearances in the second half of the season by a succession of minor injuries,[43][44][45][46] culminating in ankle damage sustained in early April[47] that kept him out for what remained of the campaign.

Although several senior players were released at the end of the season, Spector agreed a further two-year contract,[48][49] which he signed after he and wife Olivia Metzinger returned from honeymoon.

[52] He returned to Birmingham's midfield for the 3–2 defeat by Leicester City in late August,[53] and a month later was involved in an eventful match at Queens Park Rangers.

He had a goal disallowed shortly before QPR took the lead, and after 79 minutes was yellow-carded for diving in the penalty area when it appeared that Richard Dunne had tripped him.

[56] This time, the injury kept him out for four months; he returned in mid-February 2014, and was a regular starter from then on, as Birmingham avoided relegation to League One on goal difference via a stoppage-time equalizer in the last match of the season.

Although Spector had hinted that he had been away from home and wider family long enough, and there was reported interest from Major League Soccer clubs, he confirmed that he and his wife felt settled in Birmingham,[64] and signed a new two-year contract.

With the emergence of Josh Dacres-Cogley, who played at right back while Spector served a suspension in November,[70] and the arrival of Emilio Nsue, Zola felt able to accede to his request.

Spector was a member of the United States team that beat Mexico 2–1 in the CONCACAF Gold Cup Final in Chicago in June 2007.

[84] Following injuries to Steve Cherundolo and Frankie Hejduk, Spector was included in the United States roster for the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup and took the chance to cement his place in the national team, starting at right-back for the entire tournament.

[85] He was rested for the United States' last qualifying match against Costa Rica on October 14 as qualification had already been secured and was recalled for friendlies in November and March.

[86] Spector received his first call-up to the senior national team in 18 months when he was added to the squad ahead of September 2015 friendlies against Peru and Brazil;[87] he played in the second game, as a second-half substitute in a 4–1 defeat.