In 1901, he started his professional baseball career with Rome of the New York State League.

The following season, he played for St. Paul of the American Association and led the league with 18 home runs.

[1] In Lumley's first major league season, he batted .279 for Brooklyn and led the NL with nine home runs and 18 triples.

Suffering from an ankle injury, Lumley struggled in 1908 and finished with a batting average of .216.

[1] In 730 games over seven seasons, Lumley posted a .274 batting average (728-for-2653) with 300 runs, 109 doubles, 66 triples, 38 home runs, 305 RBI, 110 stolen bases, 204 bases on balls, .328 on-base percentage and .408 slugging percentage.