[3][4] Purtell began playing professional baseball in 1904 at age 18 with the Columbus Senators and Decatur Commodores.

[5] Purtell made his major league debut in April 1908 with the Chicago White Sox.

On May 10, he became the first player in major league history to strike out twice in the same inning, suffering the indignity at the hands of Walter Johnson.

[1] Purtell spent the 1912 and 1913 seasons playing for the Jersey City Skeeters in the International League.

The 1918 Maple Leafs have been rated as one of the top fifty minor league teams of all time.

[5][8] After retiring from baseball, Purtell worked as a grip in a motion picture studio in 1920,[9] a bartender at a club in 1930,[10] and later a landscape engineer.