 Born in Corona, New York, Micelotta made his professional debut in 1947 at the age of 18 and played for two different teams that year. He played in 40 games for the Dayton Indians of the Ohio State League and in 25 games for the Carbondale Pioneers of the North Atlantic League. Micelotta spent the 1948 season with two teams in the Philadelphia Phillies minor league system. He spent 58 games with the Bradford Blue Wings of the New York – Penn League and 60 games with the Dover Phillies of the Eastern Shore League, both D-class teams. In 1949, Micelotta was promoted to the C-class Vandergrift Pioneers of the Middle Atlantic League; in 129 games for the Pioneers, he hit .287 and hit a then-career high seven triples.
