Born in Georgetown, Massachusetts, Tenney was one of the first players to enter the league after graduating college, where he served as a left-handed catcher for Brown University.

After retiring from baseball, Tenney worked for the Equitable Life Insurance Society before his death in Boston on July 3, 1952.

[3] Charles Tenney attended Dummer Academy from 1850 to 1853, and served for the 50th Massachusetts Regiment in the Civil War, where he nearly died due to "intense suffering".

[7] The night of his senior dinner, Tenney received a telephone message from Frank Selee, the manager of the Beaneaters, asking him to play a game for the team at catcher, due to the injuries of other players.

[7][8] In his MLB debut on June 16, 1894, Tenney had to be removed from the game in the fifth inning due to a fractured finger on his throwing hand from a foul tip.

After Tenney had his finger addressed, James Billings, an owner of the Beaneaters, offered him a contract worth US$300 a month from that day.

He asked how much I wanted, and I thought I would mention a big sum in order to call their bluff good and strong.

[12] Offensively, Tenney led MLB in plate appearances (646) and tied Duff Cooley, Gene DeMontreville, and George Van Haltren for the lead in at bats (566) as the Boston club became National League (NL) champions with a 93–39 record.

[1] He was suspended for ten games for fighting Pittsburgh Pirates manager Fred Clarke in May 1902,[8][17] and finished the 1902 season with the second most sacrifice hits (29) in the majors, to go along with a .315 average.

[1] For the season, he hit .313, with 41 RBIs and three home runs, as he led his team in walks (70) and had the best on-base percentage mark (.415) on the squad.

[8] In 1905, Tenney tried to sign William Clarence Matthews, an African-American middle infielder from Harvard University, to a contract.

[23] After a 158–295 record as manager, on December 3, 1907, Tenney was traded to the Giants, along with Al Bridwell and Tom Needham, for Frank Bowerman, George Browne, Bill Dahlen, Cecil Ferguson and Dan McGann;[10] the trade was called "one of the biggest deals in the history of National League baseball".

[28] With both teams finishing the season at a 98–55 record, a replay game had to be played to determine who would win the National League pennant.

[31][32] Mayor Thomas Lynch Raymond declared April 27 a "half-holiday" for the city of Newark for the Indians' Opening Day.

[4] After retiring from baseball, Tenney worked for the Equitable Life Insurance Society and continued writing for The New York Times.