Mossi was born in St. Helena, California, the son of Patience (Woodworth) and Louis Mossi. He grew up in Daly City and went to Jefferson High School. At Jefferson High he was a star football player, twice earning all-Peninsula Athletic League honors as a quarterback.\n', '

Mossi was spotted at an early age and signed by the Cleveland Indians after leaving high school in 1949. He was assigned to Class-A Bakersfield. At Bakersfield, Mossi exhibited control issues; he walked 115 batters in 195 innings in his first year. He nonetheless progressed with his career, posting a 2.92 ERA in 122 innings for the Wichita Indians in 1951.\n', '

Mossi was given a spot in the Indians\' bullpen for the 1954 season; as a fifth year professional, major league rules at the time would have forced the Indians to put him through waivers had he not been given a spot on the team. The quality of the Indians\' rotation at that time — which included Early Wynn, Bob Lemon, Bob Feller, Hal Newhouser and Mike Garcia — meant that Mossi, who had always been a starter, had to be used as a reliever. His major league debut came on April 17 of that year in an 8–1 loss to the Chicago White Sox as Mossi pitched three innings and allowed one run. The first batter Mossi faced as a major leaguer was future Hall-of-Famer Nellie Fox, who reached base on an error. His first strikeout was against Sherm Lollar to end the inning. In his first season in the majors, Mossi recorded an ERA of 1.94 in 93 innings pitched as the Indians advanced to the 1954 World Series, the only World Series of Mossi\'s career. The Indians were swept in the series, and Mossi pitched four innings in three games, allowing no runs.\n', '

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