Born in Los Angeles, Priddy was signed by the New York Yankees' Southern California scouting chief, Bill Essick.

In 1938, Priddy was paired with future Hall of Fame shortstop Phil Rizzuto as a double play combination for three years in the Yankees' minor league organization.

[2] By 1940, the exploits of Priddy and Rizzuto drew attention in New York as the Yankees' double play combination of the future.

Mel Allen gave regular reports about their performance in Kansas City during his New York radio broadcasts.

"[3] That season, Priddy batted .306 with 38 doubles, 10 triples, and 16 home runs, while Rizzuto was named the league MVP for his play.

He took me under his wing, but he loved playing tricks on me too.... like nailing my shoes to the floor, ripping up all my fan letters, all those things.

"[3] One book states that Priddy played in the late 1930s with Babe Herman's All Stars, a touring team that staged exhibitions against all-stars from the Negro leagues.

"[3] After McCarthy announced his plan, Priddy reportedly walked up to the future Hall of Famer Gordon and told him, "I'm the better second baseman.

"[3] On April 14, 1941, Time magazine wrote: "Last year these Keystone Kids led Kansas City to its second consecutive pennant and set a new league record for double plays: 130.

He also fought with manager Joe McCarthy, and during the winter of 1942–1943, Priddy complained publicly about his lack of playing time, saying that he was being "wasted" by the Yankees.

Washington Post sports columnist following the trade said that Priddy with his fading talent didn't take his baseball career seriously enough to satisfy his disappointed managers.

Wills later recalled that the Senators had sent Priddy to help with a playground baseball clinic in the African-American section of Washington.

'"[8] Priddy looked down at Wills' feet and said, "Hey, kid, you've got a chance to be a good baseball player one day.

[8] On November 22, 1947, the Senators traded Priddy to the St. Louis Browns for Johnny Berardino‚ but Berardino announced he was retiring to devote himself to his movie career.

In 1948, he hit .296 with a .391 on-base percentage and led the AL's second basemen in putouts, assists, double plays, and chances per game.

The Browns' attendance dropped to 270,000 in 1949 (compared with more than 2 million in New York and Cleveland), and the team was forced to sell their best players to raise $200,000 to make ends meet.

"[3] Baseball historian Bill James wrote an entire chapter about Priddy in his book The Politics of Glory.

He concluded that Priddy hit relatively well, was one of the greatest defensive players in history, and had "essentially the same skills as Mazeroski and Bolling."

"[3] In 1980, Priddy died of a heart attack at his home in North Hollywood, California while suing his bank for seizing his assets during his prison stint.