He was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, to Swiss immigrants Christian and Louise Bechel Gandil. He was their only child. The Gandil family migrated west and the 1900 census (taken June 8) has their address registered as Seattle, King County, Washington. After 1900, the Gandils moved to California, settling in Berkeley. The young Gandil soon showed an interest in playing baseball. He joined the Oakland High School baseball team in 1902 and played all positions except first base.\n', '

After two years at Oakland High School, Gandil left home to make it on his own. He took a train to Amarillo, Texas, and played catcher in the local semi-pro baseball league for the Amarillo team. In 1907, he migrated to Humboldt, Arizona, and worked as a boilermaker in the copper mines. He played catcher for the semipro team that was sponsored by the local smelting company. The Humboldt baseball club experienced financial problems in 1906, and Gandil moved on to a team in Cananea, Mexico, 40 miles from the United States. "I caught on with an outlaw team in Cananea, Mexico, just across the Arizona border. Cananea was a wide-open mining town in those days, which suited me fine. I was a wild, rough kid. I did a little heavyweight fighting at $150 a fight. I also worked part-time as a boilermaker in the copper mines." It was with the Cananea, Mexico, team that Gandil became a first baseman.\n', '

Gandil entered professional baseball in 1908. He spent the season with Shreveport (Louisiana) in the Texas League and batted a solid .269. That same year, he met 17-year-old Laurel Fay Kelly (a Mississippi native), and they were soon married.\n', '

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