Allen Jones Gettel (September 17, 1917 – April 8, 2005), nicknamed "Two Gun", was an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

who played for the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

, Washington Senators,

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

, and

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

. He also had a brief career as an actor in

Westerns The Western is a genre of fiction typically set in the American frontier (commonly referred to as the "Old West" or the "Wild West") between the California Gold Rush of 1849 and the closing of the frontier in 1890, and commonly associated wit ...

Early life

Gettel was born on September 17, 1917, in

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. It had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, third-most populous city ...

, to Edward and Sarah Gettel. He lived on his family farm in Kempsville, Virginia. His father trained horses and he gained experience breaking them on the farm. Gettel graduated from Kempsville High School in

Virginia Beach, Virginia Virginia Beach (colloquially VB) is the most populous city in the U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. The city is located on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay in southeastern Virginia. It is the sixth-most populous city in the ...

Baseball career

After he graduated from high school in 1936, Gettel signed as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

with the

, and he pitched in the minor leagues for Yankees'

farm team In sports, a farm team (also referred to as farm system, developmental system, feeder team, or nursery club) is generally a Team sport, team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any s ...

s. He made his professional debut with the

Norfolk Tars The Norfolk Tars were a minor league baseball team that existed on and off from 1906 to 1955. Based in Norfolk, Virginia, they played in the Virginia League from 1906 to 1918 and from 1921 to 1928, in the Eastern League (1916), Eastern League from ...

of the Class B

Piedmont League The Piedmont League was a minor league baseball league that operated from 1920 through 1955. The league operated principally in the Piedmont plateau region in the eastern United States. Cities represented The following cities hosted teams th ...

. In 1937, he pitched for the Butler Yankees of the Class D

Pennsylvania State Association The Pennsylvania State Association was a class D level league of minor league baseball that existed from 1934 until 1942. The league franchised were entirely based in Western Pennsylvania. History The Pennsylvania State Association was compose ...

, where he pitched to a 7–5

win–loss record Win–loss may refer to: * Win–loss analytics, analysis of the reasons why a visitor to a website was or wasn't persuaded to engage in a desired action * Win–loss record, also winning percentage * Win–loss record (pitching), the number of ...

and a 3.99

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA) in 24

games pitched In baseball statistics, games pitched (denoted by Games G in tables of only pitching statistics) is the number of games in which a player appears as a pitcher. The statistic is also referred to as appearances, especially to refer to the number of ...

, and the Bassett Furnituremakers of the Class D Bi-State League, where he had 1–1 record and a 4.09 ERA in four appearances. Gettel pitched for the Snow Hill Billies of the Class D

Coastal Plain League The Coastal Plain League (CPL) is a wood-bat collegiate summer baseball league, featuring college players recruited from throughout the nation. The league takes its name from the Class D level Coastal Plain League which operated in the area f ...

in 1938, and had a 16–7 record. In 1939, he pitched for the

Augusta Tigers The Augusta Tigers was the primary moniker of the minor league baseball teams in Augusta, Georgia. Beginning in 1884, Augusta has hosted numerous teams in various leagues. Baseball Hall of Fame charter member Ty Cobb played for the Augusta Tour ...

of the Class B

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its h ...

in 1939, and had a 14–8 record and a 3.46 ERA. He pitched for the

Newark Bears The Newark Bears were an American independent league professional baseball team based in Newark, New Jersey. They were a member of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball and, later, the Canadian American Association of Professional Bas ...

of the

Class AA Double-A (officially Class AA) is the second-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946, below only Triple-A. There are currently 30 teams classified at the Double-A level, one for each team in Major League B ...

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major ...

in 1940 and 1941; he had a 3–3 record and a 3.43 ERA in 1940 and a 12–9 record and a 2.98 ERA in 1941. Pitching for the Kansas City Blues of the Class AA American Association in 1942, he had a 12–11 record and a 3.62 ERA. On January 22, 1943, the Yankees traded Gettel and

Ed Levy Edward Clarence Levy (''né'' Whitner; October 28, 1916 – October 27, 2008) was a left fielder/first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first ...

with $10,000 to the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

for Nick Etten. He indicated he would stay on his family farm during the 1943 season, as farming was a

reserved occupation A reserved occupation (also known as essential services) is an occupation considered important enough to a country that those serving in such occupations are exempt or forbidden from military service. In a total war, such as the Second World War, ...

, while Levy was reclassified as 1-A by the

Selective Service System The Selective Service System (SSS) is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the United States government that maintains a database of registered male U.S. Citizenship of the United States, citizens and o ...

, making him eligible for the draft. The Phillies requested that the

Kenesaw Mountain Landis Kenesaw Mountain Landis (; November 20, 1866 – November 25, 1944) was an American jurist who served as a United States federal judge from 1905 to 1922 and the first Commissioner of Baseball, commissioner of baseball from 1920 until his death. ...

, the

Commissioner of Baseball The commissioner of baseball is the chief executive officer of Major League Baseball (MLB) and the associated Minor League Baseball (MiLB) – a constellation of leagues and clubs known as " organized baseball". Under the direction of the commiss ...

, void the trade. The dispute was settled on March 26, with Gettel and Levy returning to the Yankees, who sent Tom Padden and

Al Gerheauser Albert "Lefty" Gerheauser (June 24, 1917 – May 28, 1972) was an American professional baseball player who pitched in the Major Leagues for five seasons (1943-46 and 1948), for the Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates and St. Louis Browns ...

to the Phillies to complete the trade. Gettel played for Norfolk in the 1943 and 1944 seasons; he had a 11–11 win–loss record and a 1.38 ERA in 1943 and a 17–7 record and a 1.81 ERA in 1944. Gettel made his major league debut with the Yankees in 1945. Gettel pitched for the Yankees in 1945 and 1946, and had a 15–15 win–loss record and a 3.84 ERA across both seasons. He allowed 11

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s in 1945, which was the fifth-most in the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...

. The Yankees traded Gettel to the

with Hal Peck and

Gene Bearden Henry Eugene Bearden (September 5, 1920 – March 18, 2004) was an American professional baseball pitcher, a left-hander who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1947 to 1953 for the Cleveland Indians, Washington Senators, Detroit Tigers, ...

in exchange for

Sherm Lollar John Sherman Lollar Jr. (August 23, 1924 – September 24, 1977) was an American professional baseball player and Coach (baseball), coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher from 1946 to 1963, most prominently as a member of the Chic ...

and Ray Mack on December 6, 1946. In 1947, Gettel established himself in the Indians'

starting rotation This is an alphabetical list of selected unofficial and specialized terms, phrases, and other jargon used in baseball, along with their definitions, including illustrative examples for many entries. 0–9 0 :"Oh and ..." See count. 1 ...

, pitching to a 11–10 win–loss record and a 3.20 ERA. He began the 1948 season with a 0–1 record and a 17.61 ERA in five appearances. On June 2, 1948, Cleveland traded Gettel and Pat Seerey to the

for Bob Kennedy. He had a 8–10 win–loss record and a 4.01 ERA for Chicago after the trade. Gettel struggled with the White Sox in 1949, pitching to a 2–5 record and a 6.43 ERA. On July 12, 1949, the Washington Senators purchased Gettel from the White Sox for the

waiver A waiver is the voluntary relinquishment or surrender of some known right or privilege. A waiver is often written, such as a disclaimer that has been accepted, but it may also be spoken between two or more parties. When the right to hold a ...

price of $10,000. He had a 0–2 record and a 5.45 ERA for Washington. The Senators sold Gettel to the Oakland Oaks of the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

(PCL) in August 1949 to compensate the Oaks for their earlier purchase of Lloyd Hittle. Gettel had a 4–0 win–loss record and a 3.60 ERA in 12 games for Oakland, and re-signed with the Oaks for the 1950 season. He had a 23–7 win–loss record with a 3.62 ERA in 1950, and was named a PCL

All-Star An all-star team is a group of people all having a high level of performance in their field. Originating in sports, it has since drifted into vernacular and has been borrowed heavily by the entertainment industry. Sports "All-star" as a sport ...

. After the 1950 season, the Oaks traded Gettel,

Ray Noble Raymond Stanley Noble (17 December 1903 – 3 April 1978) was an English jazz and big band musician, who was a bandleader, composer and arranger, as well as a radio host, television and film comedian and actor; he also performed in the United S ...

, and Artie Wilson to the

for

Bill Ayers William Charles Ayers (; born December 26, 1944) is an American retired professor and former militant organizer. In 1969, Ayers co-founded the far-left militant organization the Weather Underground, a revolutionary group that sought to overthr ...

Bert Haas Berthold John Haas (February 8, 1914 – June 23, 1999) was an American professional baseball player who played first base in the Major Leagues from 1933 to 1951. He played for the Cincinnati Reds, New York Giants, Brooklyn Dodgers, Chicago Whit ...

Joe Lafata Joseph Joseph Lafata (August 3, 1921 – May 6, 2004) was an American professional baseball player who appeared in 127 games as a first baseman, outfielder and pinch hitter in Major League Baseball for the New York Giants over three seasons spann ...

, Wes Bailey, and $125,000. He had a 1–2 record and a 4.87 ERA in 29 relief appearances and one game started, before the Giants sold Gettel to Oakland on July 27, 1951. In 1953, he had a 24–14 record and a 3.20 ERA, setting a franchise record for wins. He also led the PCL in

innings pitched In baseball, the statistic innings pitched (IP) is the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of Batter (baseball), batters and baserunners that have been put out while the pitcher is on the Baseball field#Pitcher's mou ...

for three consecutive seasons. On August 20, 1955, the

purchased Gettel from Oakland. He had a 1–0 record and a 9.00 ERA in eight appearances for St. Louis. Gettel played for the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...

of the PCL in 1956. He tried out for the

Hollywood Stars The Hollywood Stars were a Minor League Baseball team that played in the Pacific Coast League during the early- and mid-20th century. They were the arch-rivals of the other Los Angeles–based PCL team, the Los Angeles Angels. Hollywood Stars ( ...

of the PCL in 1957, but did not make the team. He pitched in five games for the

Asheville Tourists The Asheville Tourists are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Houston Astros. It is located in Asheville, North Carolina. Asheville teams have played under the Tourists moniker in different ...

of the South Atlantic League in 1959. Gettel retired from baseball with a 38–45 record and a 4.28 ERA in the major leagues.

Acting career

While Gettel played for Oakland, he became involved in acting in

after having a

screen test A screen test is a method of determining the suitability of an actor or actress for performing on film or in a particular role. It is typically a secondary or later stage in the audition process. The performer is generally given a scene, or sel ...

with

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

in 1953, which resulted in him receiving the nickname "Two Gun". He embraced the nickname, wearing cowboy outfits with two

revolver A revolver is a repeating handgun with at least one barrel and a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers (each holding a single cartridge) for firing. Because most revolver models hold six cartridges before needing to be reloaded, ...

s to the stadium. On "Al Gettel Day" in 1953, he rode from

left field In baseball, a left fielder, abbreviated LF, is an outfielder who plays defense in left field. Left field is the area of the outfield to the left of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the numbering syst ...

home plate A baseball field, also called a ball field or baseball diamond, is the field upon which the game of baseball is played. The term can also be used as a metonym for a baseball park. The term sandlot is sometimes used, although this usually refers ...

on a horse while wearing full

Western wear Western wear is a category of men's and women's clothing which derives its unique style from the clothes worn in the 19th century Wild West. It ranges from accurate historical reproductions of American frontier clothing, to the stylized garments ...

. Gettel signed a contract with

Gene Autry Orvon Grover "Gene" Autry (September 29, 1907 – October 2, 1998), nicknamed the Singing Cowboy, was an American actor, musician, singer, composer, rodeo performer, and baseball team owner, who largely gained fame by singing in a Crooner ...

to develop films, and had a small role in the 1957 film ''

The Tin Star ''The Tin Star'' is a 1957 American Western film based on a short story, directed in VistaVision by Anthony Mann and starring Henry Fonda and Anthony Perkins, in one of Perkins' first roles. The film became one of the few low-budget westerns ...

''.

Later life

Gettel and his wife had three children. After his retirement from baseball, he continued to farm and became a construction equipment operator in

. In 2001, Gettel and other players from the 1951 New York Giants admitted to stealing signs in their run to the postseason, with Gettel saying that "every hitter knew what was coming", and that it "made a big difference" for the Giants. Gettel died in Norfolk on April 8, 2005.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gettel, Al 1917 births 2005 deaths Major League Baseball pitchers Baseball players from Norfolk, Virginia New York Yankees players Cleveland Indians players Chicago White Sox players Washington Senators (1901–1960) players 20th-century American sportsmen New York Giants (baseball) players St. Louis Cardinals players Williston Oilers players