John H. Gaffney nicknamed the "King of Umpires" and "Honest John", was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 umpire

Umpire (baseball)

In baseball, the umpire is the person charged with officiating the game, including beginning and ending the game, enforcing the rules of the game and the grounds, making judgment calls on plays, and handling the disciplinary actions. The term is often shortened to the colloquial form ump...

 and manager

Manager (baseball)

In baseball, the field manager is an individual who is responsible for matters of team strategy on the field and team leadership. Managers are typically assisted by between one and six assistant coaches, whose responsibilities are specialized...

 in Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

. He was baseball's first great umpire, and played a pioneering role in the use of multiple umpires in baseball games.

Born in Roxbury, Massachusetts

Roxbury, Massachusetts

Roxbury is a dissolved municipality and current neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was one of the first towns founded in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630, and became a city in 1846 until annexed to Boston on January 5, 1868...

, Gaffney's family moved to Worcester

Worcester, Massachusetts

Worcester is a city and the county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, as of the 2010 Census the city's population is 181,045, making it the second largest city in New England after Boston....

 when he was 11. He began playing baseball as a third baseman

Third baseman

A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run...

, but his promising career was ended when he injured his arm throwing a snowball in 1880

1880 in baseball

-Champions:*National League: Chicago White StockingsNational Association: Washington NationalsInter-league playoff: Washington def. Chicago , 4 games to 3 -National League final standings:-Statistical leaders:-January–March:...

, reportedly just before being promoted to 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...

. He became a printer

Printing

Printing is a process for reproducing text and image, typically with ink on paper using a printing press. It is often carried out as a large-scale industrial process, and is an essential part of publishing and transaction printing....

, and started umpiring college games involving nearby Ivy League

Ivy League

The Ivy League is an athletic conference comprising eight private institutions of higher education in the Northeastern United States. The conference name is also commonly used to refer to those eight schools as a group...

 teams in 1883

1883 in baseball

-Champions:*National League: Boston Beaneaters*American Association: Philadelphia Athletics*Inter-State League: Brooklyn Atlantics*Northwestern League: Toledo Blue StockingsInter-league playoff: Philadelphia declined to play Boston...

.

He joined the National League's umpiring staff in August 1884

1884 in baseball

-Champions:*First World's Championship Series: Providence Grays over New York Metropolitans *National League: Providence Grays*American Association: New York Metropolitans*Union Association: St...

, with his first game being an 11-inning, 1-0 game between the two teams battling for first place, Providence

Providence Grays

The Providence Grays were a Major League Baseball team based in Providence, Rhode Island who played in the National League from until . The Grays played at Messer Field in the Olneyville neighborhood. The team won the National League title twice, in and...

 and Boston

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....

. He quickly gained wide respect as a top officiator, and as the league's best judge of balls and strikes

Strike zone

In baseball, the strike zone is a conceptual right pentagonal prism over home plate which defines the boundaries through which a pitch must pass in order to count as a strike when the batter does not swing.-Definition:...

. 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

1887 in baseball

-National League final standings:-American Association final standings:-National League statistical leaders:-American Association statistical leaders:-January–March:...

 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

Connie Mack (baseball)

Cornelius McGillicuddy, Sr. , better known as Connie Mack, was an American professional baseball player, manager, and team owner. The longest-serving manager in Major League Baseball history, he holds records for wins , losses , and games managed , with his victory total being almost 1,000 more...

 and future umpiring great Hank O'Day

Hank O'Day

Henry Francis O'Day was an American right-handed pitcher, umpire and manager in Major League Baseball who worked as a National League umpire for 30 years between 1895 and 1927, and was the only person in major league history to appear as a player, manager and umpire. His 3,986 total games as an...

 – boarded his train during a Washington stopover and surprised him with the gift of a diamond ring in appreciation of his efforts.

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

Kick Kelly

John O. "Kick" Kelly , also nicknamed "Honest John" and "Diamond John," was an American catcher, manager and umpire in Major League Baseball who went on to become a boxing referee and to run gambling houses in his native New York City...

, who was regarded as the best umpire in the American Association

American Association (19th century)

The American Association was a Major League Baseball league that existed for 10 seasons from to . During that time, it challenged the National League for dominance of professional baseball...

 from 1883-86 before managing that league's Louisville

Louisville Colonels

The Louisville Colonels were a Major League Baseball team that played in the American Association throughout that league's ten-year existence from 1882 until 1891, first as the Louisville Eclipse and later as the Louisville Colonels , the latter name derived from the historic Kentucky colonels...

 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

1910 in baseball

-Champions:*World Series: Philadelphia Athletics over Chicago Cubs -Awards and honors:*Chalmers Award**Ty Cobb, Detroit Tigers, OF**Nap Lajoie, Cleveland Naps-MLB statistical leaders:-American League final standings:-National League final standings:...

 that two umpires per game became standard, it formed the basis for the multiple umpire systems which followed. Gaffney later umpired in the 1888

1888 in baseball

-Champions:*World Series: New York Giants 6, St. Louis Browns 4*National League: New York Giants*American Association: St. Louis Browns-National League final standings:-American Association final standings:-National League statistical leaders:...

 and 1889

1889 in baseball

-Champions:*World Series: New York Giants 6, Brooklyn Bridegrooms 3*National League: New York Giants*American Association: Brooklyn Bridegrooms-National League final standings:-American Association final standings:-National League statistical leaders:...

 championship series, and again for three games in the 1892

1892 in baseball

-Champions:*National League: Boston Beaneaters defeated Cleveland Spiders, 5 games to 0 - First half of season :-Second half of season:-Overall record:-Events:...

 NL championship series, for a total of 37 postseason games – a 19th-century record.

After the 1887 series, Gaffney and Kelly both returned to umpiring, although they switched leagues in the process – Kelly moved to the NL for the 1888 season, while Gaffney switched to the American Association for 1888-89, where he received a salary of $2,500 plus road expenses, making him easily the best-paid umpire. In the American Association, Gaffney pioneered the practice of moving from behind the catcher to behind the pitcher when a batter reached first base, a crucial move in the days of solitary umpires. He made other innovations, including calling balls fair or foul depending on where they cleared the fence rather than where they landed, and creating a shirt in which extra baseballs could be stored. After each season, he reported omissions and inadequacies in the rules to the league, and many of his suggested revisions were enacted.

Mack, who was a rookie catcher for Gaffney's 1887 team and later caught for 5 years in which Gaffney umpired, described him as the perfect umpire; umpiring legend Bill Klem

Bill Klem

William Joseph Klem, born William Joseph Klimm , known as the "father of baseball umpires", was a National League umpire in Major League Baseball from 1905 to 1941...

 noted that he was the first to be widely called "King of Umpires".

Gaffney moved to the Players League

Players League

The Players' National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs, popularly known as the Players' League , was a short-lived but star-studded professional American baseball league of the 19th century...

 for its sole season in 1890 before returning to the NL in September 1891. The stress of 19th century umpiring, when players and fans demonstrated tremendous abusiveness and hostility toward the lone umpires, began to take its toll, however, and Gaffney was released by the NL after the 1893 season due to his increasing drinking. After beginning 1894 in the Eastern League, he returned to the NL in mid-season, but his alcohol abuse continued and he was again let go. He umpired in the Eastern League again from 1895-97 before coming back to the NL in 1899-1900, joining Tom Lynch in becoming one of only two men to umpire in 12 major league seasons in the 19th century.

He umpired college games near Worcester after 1900, and later moved to New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

, where he worked as a night watchman.

Gaffney died in poverty at age 58 in New York City. After his death, Mack arranged a benefit game in Worcester between his Philadelphia Athletics

Oakland Athletics

The Oakland Athletics are a Major League Baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Athletics have played in the O.co Coliseum....

 and the Boston Red Sox

Boston Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...

to pay for a monument over Gaffney's grave.

Quotes

• "I have studied the rules thoroughly. I keep my eyes wide open, and I follow the ball with all possible dispatch. With the players I try to keep as even tempered as I can, always speaking to them gentlemanly yet firmly. I dislike to fine, and in all my experience have not inflicted more than $300 in fines, and I never found it necessary to order a player from the field. Pleasant words to players in passion will work far better than fines." - as quoted in The Sporting News, April 25, 1891
• "He was perfect. He would follow a ball all the way from the pitcher, and when he made his decision, he would say, 'That was one-eighth of an inch outside' - or 'That was one-eighth of an inch too low,' and he was right. There has never been another umpire like him." - Connie Mack, in The Sporting News, April 8, 1943

Sources

• Gerlach, Larry R. "John H. Gaffney", in Baseball's First Stars, The Society for American Baseball Research, 1996.
• The Sporting News, 1886-1887.

External links

• BaseballLibrary.com - short profile
• Baseball-Reference.com - managing record
• 1884 NL umpire biographies
• Retrosheet
• Find a Grave