Gunkle was born on October 26, 1857, in Reading, Pennsylvania, to the German immigrants Fred and Elizabeth Gunkle. His father was a roadmaster at the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad. When young, Gunkle was an apprentice machinist and later became a skilled artisan. He moved to Chicago, Illinois, in 1876 and accepted a job at the Crane Brothers Manufacturing Company.
In May 1879, Gunkle was able to convince the Cleveland Blues of the National League (NL), who were desperate for a catcher after several injuries, to have him play the position. He went on a train and left for Cleveland mid-month. He played one game, catching for pitcher Jim McCormick, but "proved so incapable" at catching that Cleveland moved him to outfielder. He allowed seven passed balls and committed three errors in three innings. He also appeared at-bat three times, but made no hits. It was his only game of professional baseball. A local newspaper wrote afterwards, "all that was necessary for a man to score a run was to get to first base somehow, passed balls would do the rest." After the game was over, Gunkle returned to Chicago, though one newspaper reporter wrote that he would "have to walk back to Chicago as it was doubted he could catch well enough to catch the train."
Later in the year, Gunkle moved to Dubuque, Iowa, and was hired by the Iowa Iron Works. He was named a traveling representative for the Samuel Bliss & Company, of Chicago, two years later.

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