Needham achieved career highs in several offensive categories during the 84 games he played in that first season: he tallied 70 hits, including 12 doubles, and he had a .260 batting average.

[2] After a brief appearance with the New York Giants in 1908, Needham was traded to the Chicago Cubs for a player named Fred Leise before the 1909 season.

This seemed to be a good opportunity for Needham, as Cubs catcher Johnny Kling was sitting out the 1909 season to pursue pool playing.

[5] He later served as a pitching coach for the Chicago White Sox and was involved in starting up two minor leagues in Ohio.

He was taken to Ohio Valley Hospital, where staff members felt that his stroke was too severe to respond to any treatment, so he was taken back home to die.