Born in Roxbury, Massachusetts, Gaffney\'s family moved to Worcester when he was 11. He began playing baseball as a third baseman, but his promising career was ended when he injured his arm throwing a snowball in 1880, reportedly just before being promoted to the National League. He became a printer, and started umpiring college games involving nearby Ivy League teams in 1883.\n', '

He joined the National League\'s umpiring staff in August 1884, with his first game being an 11-inning, 1-0 game between the two teams battling for first place, Providence and Boston. He quickly gained wide respect as a top officiator, and as the league\'s best judge of balls and strikes. In the middle of his third season, his knowledge of the game was so highly regarded that he was offered the managing position of the Washington Nationals, and he took over the team on August 21, 1886. The team, mired in last place, finished the last third of the season without improving its position; but Gaffney continued in the post for the entire 1887 campaign, with a slight improvement to 7th place. He finished his managing career with 61 wins against 101 losses. He was much-liked by the players, and while he was traveling during the 1887 world championship series, his players – including catcher Connie Mack and future umpiring great Hank O\'Day – boarded his train during a Washington stopover and surprised him with the gift of a diamond ring in appreciation of his efforts.\n', '

Into the 1880s, baseball had always been played with the use of a single umpire, but by late in the decade it was becoming apparent that this was an unsatisfactory arrangement for the most important games. The 1886 World\'s Championship Series had witnessed a two-game experiment in which each team selected an umpire – both positioned behind the catcher – with a third official, called a referee, positioned behind the pitcher and able to move about the bases. However, the referee was only permitted to make calls when the two umpires either disagreed or requested his decision; this system was deemed a failure by all observers. The following year, Gaffney was selected by the NL as one of the two umpires to work the 1887 series, along with Kick Kelly, who was regarded as the best umpire in the American Association from 1883-86 before managing that league\'s Louisville team in 1887. The two worked out a system whereby one umpire would work behind home plate, calling balls and strikes, while the other positioned himself in the field to make calls on the bases. This format was a decided success, and although it was not until almost 1910 that two umpires per game became standard, it formed the basis for the multiple umpire systems which followed. Gaffney later umpired in the 1888 and 1889 championship series, and again for three games in the 1892 NL championship series, for a total of 37 postseason games – a 19th-century record.\n', '

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