Kenny, regardless of "late or general" season, I've been told by wildlife enforcement that a "spike" is only a true spike, always

Yup, a legal "buck deer" can be a buck with one unbranched antler during general season and a spike must be a completely unbranched antler buck. Furthermore, I've been told by Game Wardens previously that a completely broken up buck with obvious broken points making it just one or two mainbeams does not constitute a "spike" buck since it's obvious that it really wasn't born as a spike. I know some may not agree to that on here but that's what I've been told by more than one Game Warden during simple conversation.

interesting information here for sure . one thing that comes to mind is late born buck fawns from yearling doe fawns bred late winter . this situation DOES NOT mean the buck is genetically inferior ! I saw a tpw high fenced true spike study where the buck studied turned into a monster 10 at 4 years old !
and on the other hand it is rather rare to see a truly "old" spike. 1.5 spikes are the general rule and what makes a lot of them "inferior" is that they are typically a year behind bucks born early in the year from older does that get bred earlier .

Regarding the questions of what constitutes a spike e.g. broken antlers, late season etc. You can go tot the TPWD website and under contact you can go in and ask the law enforcement division any question you want. I used it earlier this year IRT another question. I had an answer within hours. It was not the same as what our local warden informed us. I printed it off and it is taped to our cooler in the barn. The guy that answers swings a much bigger stick than the local warden and having his answer available with his signature could save you a lot of grief if there is any interpretation to this or any other question.

That's an old buck that serves as an example how racks eventually decline if a buck should survive long enough.