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Don Gullett holds a 1969 autographed baseball from his only minor league team.

submitted photo

Don Gullett, a former pitcher for the Reds and Yankees, converses with spectators during a Central Park event in July 2011.

Don Gullett, a legendary pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds and one of the best athletes in the history of northeastern Kentucky, passed away on Wednesday. He was seventy-three.

Gullett never failed to excel in any sport. At least he loved basketball, football, and baseball.

Not only is Gullett possibly the greatest athlete in the history of northeastern Kentucky, but he’s also probably the best three-sport athlete.

Simply refer to him as The Natural.

Think about this: Thirty-five significant college football offers, including Notre Dame, Ohio State, and Alabama, and seventeen major college basketball offers later, Gullett was a projected first-round pick in the 1969 professional baseball draft while still a senior at McKell High School.

“I recall going out to play softball at Lynn Elementary School and competing with the older boys.” Playing against sixth- and eighth-graders, I was in the second grade,” he recalled.

He was also playing without a glove.

“My first glove came from Walter Willis, who worked in Greenup’s educational system,” Gullett said in a 2014 interview. “I recall receiving the black glove from him. “This is where you need a glove,” he remarked. I was playing baseball outside with only my bare hands.

Gullett had talent for his age, but he was also small for his age.

He responded, “It was all really great,” when asked which sport was his favorite. In the second grade, I started playing baseball for the first time. Since there was no organized basketball or football in our area, I spent more time playing baseball.

Gullett gained insight into the world of sports from his elder brother Jack, who was proficient in every sport despite never participating in high school athletics.

“We would engage in backyard sports like baseball, basketball, and football,” stated Gullett. “He never participated in any organized sports, but he was very knowledgeable about the sport and very helpful to me.”

When Gullett was a sixth grader, he started playing organized, competitive football and basketball and also fell in love with those games. Gullett excelled in everything he attempted to do. The main thing that makes Gullett famous is his lightning-fast fastball, which helped him win 109 major league games during an injury-shortened career. However, those who faced off against him in basketball and football recall a fierce opponent.

In 1967 and 1968, Gullett was a member of two of McKell’s best squads. McKell thrashed Wurtland 72–7 during that 1968 season, and Gullett scored every point in the contest. It was not uncommon for him to score in the upper 30s during basketball games and, of course, there was no more dominating pitcher than Gullett, even as an eighth-grader at Wurtland.

The late Larry Jordan invited the late Malcolm Conley, then the sports editor at the Ashland Daily Independent, to come out and watch this eighth-grade pitching phenom throw. It was that same year that Reds scout Gene Bennett first feasted his eyes on the prized left-hander. He left practically drooling over what he had witnessed.

Gullett’s legend grew throughout his high school days in all sports, but especially in baseball.

Bennett said it was a game between McKell and Portsmouth Clay right before the postseason tournaments in 1969 that secured Gullett’s legacy.

He struck out 20 of 21 Clay batters in the perfect game effort. The last batter bunted the ball back sharply to him and he threw out the runner for the third out.

That sensational effort came with “23 or 24 major league scouts watching,” Gullett said.

His last game in high school was a 1-0 loss to Ashland in the 16th Region Tournament semifinals in Morehead.

Dave Damron had the only hit for the Tomcats, a triple, and he came home on Mike Tackett’s sacrifice fly. Gullett struck out 11 and walked only one in six innings. However, Tomcat pitcher Tim Huff match

Ashland was a thorn in McKell’s side, although Gullett performed well in big moments.

As a junior in 1967, he had 80 yards rushing and scored all three touchdowns in McKell’s 21-20 loss to the eventual state champions.

As a senior, he scored 21 points in the region basketball tournament against the Tomcats and then pitched the semifinal gem but was on the losing end.

“They had some great teams, championship teams,” Gullett said of the Tomcats. “Two particular individuals, Bobby Lynch and Bill Lynch, those were great baseball players. We met them in Little League and through high school, all the way through. It’s something I’ll always remember. They weren’t the only two guys on the team. They had some really good players.”

By the time he was a senior, Gullett was considered the possible No. 1 overall draft choice in the June amateur draft. He went in the first round with the 14th overall selection to the Cincinnati Reds. Slugger Jeff Burroughs was taken first by the Washington Senators at the urging of the great Ted Williams. The second player chosen was fireballing J.R. Richard by the Astros. He won 107 games with a 3.15 ERA before having his career cut short by heart issues.

However, only two players from the first round had a better WAR (wins above replacement) ranking than Gullett — Richard and Gorman Thomas of the Brewers, who had 268 home runs in a lengthy career.

Gullett won 109 games with the Reds and Yankees, including six World Series appearances. He was on a World Series champion from 1975 to 1978 — two apiece with the Reds and Yankees.

After the 1976 season, he became a free agent, and the Yankees signed him to a six-year contract, totaling $2 million. He was 14-4 in 1977. By July, 1978, his career was over because of a torn rotator cuff. Gullett’s nine-year record was 109-50.