Caraffi was born in
Dunlevy, Pennsylvania. In 1915, at the age of fifteen, he began playing with the semi-professional
Vestaburg which competed in an obscure Pennsylvania league. He left Vestaburg in 1917 after which there is a two-year gap in the record of his career. However, the U.S. involvement in
World War I caused the suspension of several leagues due to the loss of players to military service. Caraffi's
National Soccer Hall of Fame profile notes that he played for the U.S. Army team in Europe and this may account for those missing two years. In 1919, Caraffi signed with the
Fall River Rovers of the semi-professional
Southern New England Soccer League. He spent two seasons with the Rovers until the team and the league folded in 1921. That occurred in response to the establishment of the
American Soccer League which was formed by several of the top SNESL and
National Association Football League teams. The Rovers were disbanded and a new, fully professional, team,
Fall River United was formed and entered the ASL. Caraffi moved to Fall River United, playing six games that season. There is another between 1922 and 1926 when he is on record as playing for the semi-professional American Hungarians of the Northeastern Ohio major league in
Cleveland, Ohio. In 1929, Caraffi joined
Cleveland Bruell Insurance in the newly established Midwest Professional Soccer League. In 1930, Bruell Insurance went to the final of the
National Challenge Cup before falling to the
Fall River F.C. ==Later life==