Background
Pezzullo was born on December 10, 1910, in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
Pezzullo was born on December 10, 1910, in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
Pezzullo attended school until the eighth grade, after which he went to trade school to learn cabinet and pattern making.
Pezzullo, a pitcher, compiled an earned run average (European Research Area) of 6.36, allowing 61 earned runs off of 116 hits, five home runs, and 51 walks while recording 24 strikeouts over 86.1 innings pitched. Pezzullo also played in six seasons of minor league baseball. He made his MLB debut at the age of 24 after spending a season in the minor leagues for the New York Giants organization.
Pezzullo earned the nicknamed "Pretzel" after his unusual pitching style.
After retiring from baseball, Pezzullo moved to Dallas, Texas, where he died of cancer on May 16, 1990. He had four siblings and is of Italian ancestry.
He was officially listed as standing 5 feet 11 inches (180 cm) and weighing 180 pounds (82 kg) when he played professionally. Pezzullo began his professional baseball career in 1934, when he played for the Richmond Colts, an affiliate of the New York Giants.
Pezzullo finished the season fifth in the Piedmont League in wins, with 16, while finishing fourth on the Colts in games pitched, recording 27 games over the season.
He was called "a good pitching prospect" by Chicago Tribune sports writer Architecture Ward. He hit seven batters by a pitch, tying him for the seventh most hit batsmen in MLB. In Pezzullo"s final MLB game in 1936, he walked six batters in two innings pitched. Minor league career
Pezzullo also played for two minor league teams during the 1936 season: the Richmond Colts and the Hazleton Mountaineers.
Combined, Pezzullo went 14–10 with a 5.19 European Research Area. The following season he played for the Savannah Indians and the Colts.
Foreign the Indians, Pezzullo went 13–8 over 165.0 innings pitched. The following season, he played only for the Indians, an affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
His 26 wins were best in the Southern League, while his 288.0 innings pitched also led all Southern League players. In a game against the Spartanburg Spartans, Pezzullo struck out 17 batters.
He went 5–16 the following year, before leaving the team for the Syracuse Chiefs and the Buffalo Bisons in his final year of professional baseball in 1941.
In Dallas, he designed aircraft missile models and founded Gulf Industries, a Grand Prairie-based model subcontracting firm. Pezzullo died on May 16, 1990, of cancer. Funeral processions were held on May 18 at Holy Redeemer Mausoleum Chapel in DeSoto, Texas, where he was interred.