A hard-hitting catcher, he was scouted by the New York Mets and St. Louis Cardinals. Invited by the Cardinals, he attended a tryout camp at Busch Stadium. Abeln was a four-year letterman on the Laboure High baseball team with a batting average of .400 his senior year. He was captain of his team and was named to the All-Conference team twice. He received Honorable Mention on the All-Metro team. In 1964, he was a catcher for the Gardenville-Affton American Legion team that won the league championship and finished second at the Missouri American Legion state tournament. In 1965. He played in a summer league at Forest Park and Shaw Park. From 1966 to 1969, Abeln caught for Harris Teachers College. In 1969, he received the Most Valuable Player Award after finishing the season with a .435 batting average. During those same years, he also played for Kutis in the Heine Meine semi-pro league. His manager was Al Mick. Kutis won the Carline Multi-State Semi-Pro tournament. In 1970 and 1971, Albeln was a catcher for the Collegians in the St. Louis County League. Albeln was a baseball coach for many years. From 1990 to 1994, he coached in the CYC League for Queen of All Saints Church in Oakville. From 1995 to 1997, he was a baseball coach for the Oakville Raiders. In 2013 and 2014, Alben coached the junior varsity team at DeSmet High School.