Tucker was born in Holyoke, Massachusetts, in 1863 and started his baseball career playing for the Springfield and Newark clubs.

Tucker entered the majors in 1887 with the Baltimore Orioles of the American Association, playing for them three years before joining the National League with the Boston Beaneaters (1890–1897), Washington Senators (1897), Brooklyn Bridegrooms (1898), St. Louis Browns (1898) and Cleveland Spiders (1899).

[1] On July 22, 1893, Tucker tied a major league record with four doubles in a single game.

[2] Tucker was hit by a pitch 272 times during his career, which was a major league record.

He currently ranks third on the all-time list behind Hughie Jennings (287) and Craig Biggio (285), and over Don Baylor (267).