Gunning began his professional baseball career in 1883 in the Northwestern League,[a] playing for the team representing Springfield, Illinois.

[3] Overall, Gunning appeared in 146 major league games, compiling a career .205 batting average with 46 RBIs and two home runs.

[2] In his final two major league seasons, Gunning served as backup to Wilbert Robinson of the Athletics,[4] who later managed the Brooklyn Robins[e] from 1914 through 1931 and was inducted to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1945.

[3] In this era, reserve players were sometimes called upon to officiate games due to the absence of scheduled umpires, caused by illness, injury, or travel issues.

Following his playing career, Gunning umpired 44 games (30 at first base, 14 at home plate) in the Players' League during 1890,[3][f] from mid-April to mid-June.