Background
Pullen was born in Louisiana Push, Washington, the second of four children and oldest of three sons born to Harriet (née Smith. 1860–1947) and Daniel Webster Pullen.
Pullen was born in Louisiana Push, Washington, the second of four children and oldest of three sons born to Harriet (née Smith. 1860–1947) and Daniel Webster Pullen.
He attended the University of Washington, where he played college football.
The family moved to Skagway, Alaska in 1897 after the death of the elder Daniel Pullen. He then enrolled in the United States Military Academy where he gained fame as a tackle for the Army Black Knights football team He was selected as a first-team All-American in 1906 by the New York World (chosen by Robert West Edgren), and in 1908 by T. A. Dwight Jones, Fielding H. Yost, and the Kansas City Journal.