Charlie Puleo Bio
Charlie is a native of Bloomfield, New Jersey where he attended Bloomfield High School. He was a well-rounded athlete at Bloomfield earning letterman jackets in both baseball and basketball. He accepted a full scholarship to play baseball at Seton Hall University (NJ).
While at Seton Hall he was a starting pitcher for the 1974 & 1975 College World Series teams. He was the career leader in pitching victories at the time of his graduation.
Puleo was later inducted into the Bloomfield Athletic Hall of Fame and Seton Hall Athletic Hall of Fame.
Charlie was signed by the Toronto Blue Jays as a free agent in 1978 where he spent time in the minor leagues. He was later traded to the New York Mets in 1981. He made his Major League debut in September of 1981 with the Mets.
In the ’82 season, he led the team in innings pitched while finishing second in victories (9) and strikeouts (98). He was traded later that year to the Cincinnati Reds for future Hall of Fame pitcher Tom Seaver.
While with the Reds (1983-1985) he was teammates alongside Johnny Bench, Davey Concepcion, and Tony Perez. He was traded to the Atlanta Braves in June of 1985. He was with the Braves from 1985-1989 where he had a career-high 53 appearances in the ’88 season.
Charlie then went on to coach professionally from 1992-1999. He was the pitching coach for the Bluefield Orioles in the Appalachian League. He helped to develop future Major League pitchers Armando Benitez, Garrett Stephenson, and Sidney Ponson.
After his professional career, he became a teacher and a coach at William Blount High School. He coached ten seasons for the Governors racking up 200 career wins with a sub-state appearance in 2007. He had 20 players selected to the All-Region and All-State teams during his tenor at WB. He helped numerous players receive scholarships to continue their education and baseball career.
He is currently a partner in the Sports Page Radio Show that promotes the best in Blount County sports.