He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1905 to 1913 for the Philadelphia Athletics, Cleveland Naps, and Boston Braves.

Lord is best known for a 1910 trade between Philadelphia and Cleveland in which he was exchanged for Morrie Rath and Shoeless Joe Jackson, who became one of the best hitters in baseball history.

Because of this lack of progress, Athletics owner/manager Connie Mack sent Lord to the New Orleans minor league team for the 1908 season.

[1] Lord was traded from Cleveland back to the Philadelphia Athletics in July 1910 in exchange for infielder Morrie Rath and a player to be named later.

He owned a car dealership and a pool hall in Chester, Pennsylvania, then worked at the Delaware County juvenile home in Upland before retiring in the mid-1950s.