John "Pretzel" Pezzullo (December 10, 1910 – May 16, 1990), also known as Pretzels Pezullo, was a professional baseball player whose career spanned eight seasons, two of which were spent with the Major League Baseball (MLB) Philadelphia Phillies. Pezzullo, a pitcher, compiled an earned run average (ERA) 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.\n', '

Pezzullo was born on December 10, 1910, in Bridgeport, Connecticut. He had four siblings and is of Italian ancestry. Pezzullo attended school until the eighth grade, after which he went to trade school to learn cabinet and pattern making. He was officially listed as standing 5 feet 11 inches (180 cm) and weighing 180 pounds (82 kg) when he played professionally.\n', '

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 Arch Ward. On November 1 of that year, Pezzullo was traded as a part of a four-man deal that sent him, Blondy Ryan, Johnny Vergez, George Watkins, and cash to the Philadelphia Phillies in exchange for Dick Bartell. For the 1935 season, Pezzullo, who pitched for the major-league Phillies, recorded a team-worst ERA of 6.40, along with a 3–5 win–loss record over 40 games pitched. 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.\n', '

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