Gunning began his professional baseball career in 1883 in the Northwestern League,[a] playing for the team representing Springfield, Illinois. In 1884, he played for the Boston Reserves of the Massachusetts State Association.[a]
Gunning's major league career spanned 1884 to 1889, with three different teams. From 1884 through 1886, he played for the Boston Beaneaters of the National League.[b] He appeared in a total of 87 games with Boston, recording a .186 batting average with 24 RBIs. In April 1887, the Beaneaters sold Gunning's contract to the Philadelphia Quakers of the National League.[c] He batting .260 with 16 RBIs and one home run in 28 games during 1887, his one season with the Quakers. In 1888, Gunning was released by the Quakers and signed by the Philadelphia Athletics of the American Association.[d]. He played for the Athletics during 1888 and 1889, appearing in 31 games while batting .207 with six RBIs and one home run. The Athletics released Gunning on June 29, 1889.
Overall, Gunning appeared in 146 major league games, compiling a career .205 batting average with 46 RBIs and two home runs. All of his defensive appearances were at catcher, playing a maximum of 48 games in a season, which he recorded with the 1885 Boston Beaneaters. He had a career .887 fielding average. In his final two major league seasons, Gunning served as backup to Wilbert Robinson of the Athletics, who later managed the Brooklyn Robins[e] from 1914 through 1931 and was inducted to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1945.

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