Cannizzaro was born in Oakland, California and attended San Leandro High School.[1] He was signed by the St. Louis Cardinals as an amateur free agent on June 21, 1956.[1] After playing in the minor leagues for four seasons, he made his major league debut with the Cardinals at the age of 21 on April 17, 1960.[1]
On October 10, 1961, He was drafted by the New York Mets from the Cardinals as the 26th pick in the 1961 Major League Baseball expansion draft.[1] He appeared in 59 games for the 1962 Mets expansion team, which ended up with a record of 40–120. The 120 losses continues to be the most losses by any Major League Baseball team in a single season since the 19th century.
Cannizzaro had his most productive years while with the San Diego Padres. In 1969 he appeared in a career-high 134 games and became the first San Diego Padre selected to play in the Major League Baseball All-Star Game.[1] In 1970, he posted career-highs with a .279 batting average, 5 home runs and 42 runs batted in.[1]
The Padres traded Cannizzaro on May 19, 1971 to the Chicago Cubs for Garry Jestadt.[1] He became the Cubs regular catcher after Randy Hundley was forced to sit out the season due to an injury. On December 17, 1971, Cannizzaro was selected off waivers from the Cubs by the Los Angeles Dodgers.[1] He did the majority of the catching for the Dodgers in 1972 as the team finished in second place in the National League.[1] He played in his final major league game on September 28, 1974 at the age of 36.[1]
