James Edward Gaffney was the owner of the Boston Braves

Atlanta Braves

The Atlanta Braves are a professional baseball club based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Braves are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Braves have played in Turner Field since 1997....

 of the National League

National League

The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...

 from through . In 1912, he purchased the club from William Hepburn Russell

William Hepburn Russell (baseball)

William Hepburn Russell was the owner of the Boston Rustlers of the National League in . In 1910, he purchased the club from John Dovey. After his death in 1911 the franchise was sold to James Gaffney.-References:...

's estate. In 1915, he sold the franchise to Percy Haughton

Percy Haughton

Percy Duncan Haughton was an American football and baseball player and coach in the United States. He served as head football coach at Cornell University from 1899 to 1900, at Harvard University from 1908 to 1916, and at Columbia University from 1923 to 1924, compiling a career college football...

.

Biography

Gaffney was born in New York City to Patrick Gaffney and Anne Masterson, Irish immigrants. In 1890, he married Essie Smith, whose family held numerous valuable properties in Manhattan. Gaffney was a Tammany Hall alderman and construction company owner. While the owner of the Braves, he built Braves Field in Boston.