John Ashley "Daff" Gammons (March 17, 1876 – March 24, 1963) was an American baseball and football player,

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

and

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

coach, amateur golfer, and insurance agent. He played professional baseball for one season, 1901, for the

Boston Beaneaters Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and financial center of New England, a region of the Northeastern United States. It has an area of and a ...

. Gammons served as the head football coach at

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

in 1902, 1908, and 1909, and as its head baseball coach from 1901 to 1903.

Early life

Gammons was born on March 17, 1876, in

New Bedford, Massachusetts New Bedford is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. It is located on the Acushnet River in what is known as the South Coast region. At the 2020 census, New Bedford had a population of 101,079, making it the state's ninth-l ...

. He attended

, where he earned

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in football from 1895 to 1897, and baseball, including on the 1896 national championship team. He graduated from Brown in 1898, and then attended

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

in 1899 and 1900.

Professional career

After college, Gammons embarked upon a professional career in the insurance business. In 1901, he founded his own insurance company, John A. Gammons, Inc. (later Gammons & Son), in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...

, which still remained in business more than one hundred years later. One source considered Gammons to be "one of the leading insurance agents of Providence".''The Standard'', p. 213. Gammons also continued his playing career in both football and baseball. In 1898 and 1899, Gammons played football for the

Duquesne Country and Athletic Club The Duquesne Country and Athletic Club was a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from 1895 until 1900. The team was considered one of the best, if not the best, professional football teams in the country from 1898 until 1 ...

. At the end of Duquesne's 1898 season, he ran 60 yards on a

punt return Punt or punting may refer to: Boats * Punt (boat), a flat-bottomed boat with a square-cut bow developed on the River Thames * Falmouth Quay Punt, a small sailing vessel hired by ships anchored in Falmouth harbour * Norfolk Punt, a type of racing ...

for a score against the Western Pennsylvania All-Star football team. He played football for the Homestead Library & Athletic Club in

1900 As of March 1 ( O.S. February 17), when the Julian calendar acknowledged a leap day and the Gregorian calendar did not, the Julian calendar fell one day further behind, bringing the difference to 13 days until February 28 ( O.S. February 15 ...

and

1901 December 13 of this year is the beginning of signed 32-bit Unix time, and is scheduled to end in January 19, 2038. Summary Political and military 1901 started with the unification of multiple British colonies in Australia on January ...

, followed by the

Pittsburgh Stars The Pittsburgh (or Pittsburg) Stars were a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1902. The team was a member of the National Football League (1902), first National Football League, which has no connection with ...

of the 1902 National Football League. Gammons played semiprofessional baseball from 1898 to 1900 with clubs in Attleboro and

North Attleboro, Massachusetts North Attleborough, alternatively spelled North Attleboro, is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 30,834 at the 2020 United States Census. The villages of Attleboro Falls and North Attleborough Center are ...

. In 1901, Gammons was approached by two professional teams: the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. The Brewers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Di ...

of the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...

and the

of the

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

. He was hesitant to play professionally, because he wished to focus on his newly founded insurance business, but eventually signed with the Beaneaters. Gammons played with Boston for one season.Daff Gammons
Baseball Reference, retrieved June 20, 2010. Gammons also coached the Brown baseball team from 1901 to 1903. In 1902, his coaching duties were expanded to include that of head coach of the football team. Brown compiled a 5–4–1 record that season. Gammons later returned to that position in 1908 and 1909, in which the football teams compiled records of 5–3–1 and 7–3, respectively. In 1917, Gammons led a group of investors which purchased the

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 the Messer Street Grounds in the Olneyville neighborhood. The team won the National ...

baseball team of the

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major ...

. He was named the club's president, but resigned that post in 1918 when he was appointed to the advisory committee of the Bureau of Mines during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. Gammons was also a skilled amateur golfer. A contemporary source called him "one of New England's best golfers." He won the 1924 Rhode Island Amateur Championship,Rhode Island Amateur Champions
, Official Website of the Rhode Island Golf Association, retrieved June 20, 2010. in which he had previously finished as runner-up in 1919 and 1920. Gammons died in

East Greenwich, Rhode Island East Greenwich is a New England town, town and the county seat of Kent County, Rhode Island, Kent County, Rhode Island. The population was 14,312 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. East Greenwich is the wealthiest municipality within ...

, on March 24, 1963. He was inducted into the inaugural class of the Brown University Athletic Hall of Fame in 1971.Exceptional Bears
, Brown University, retrieved June 20, 2010.''2009 Football Media Guide'', p. 65.

Head coaching record

Football

References

External links