Purtell was born in Columbus, Ohio, in 1886. His father Patrick Purtell (born 1849), aka Pere Purtell, was an Irish immigrant who played professional baseball in the late 1860s and early 1870s and later worked as a foreman in a cracker bakery in Columbus. His mother Emma (born 1854) was an Ohio native.\n', '

Purtell began playing professional baseball in 1904 at age 18 with the Columbus Senators and Decatur Commodores. He spent the next three seasons from 1905 to 1907 playing for Decatur.\n', '

Purtell made his major league debut in April 1908 with the Chicago White Sox. He appeared in only 28 games with Chicago in 1908, compiling a .130 batting average. He remained with the White Sox in 1909, appearing in 103 games and batting .258.\n', '

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