Lochhead was born in 1876 in Stockton, California. His father died in 1878, leaving Lochhead's mother to raise him and his three siblings. He grew up in Stockton and attended Stockton High School.
Lochhead made his major league debut as the starting shortstop for the 1899 Cleveland Spiders, widely regarded as the worstbaseball team in history. The 1899 Spiders had a 20–134 record, scoring 529 runs and allowing 1,252. Lochhead has the dubious distinction of sometimes being referred to as the worst regular player on the worst team in history. His.238 batting average was 43 points lower than the league average and among the lowest among all starters in the National League in 1899. His 81 errors was by far the highest on the Spiders, though his.909 fielding percentage was on par with other National League shortstops that year. He led the team in appearances, playing in 148 of the Spiders' 154 games. His 81 errors ranked second in the National League at any position, but he also ranked second among the league's shortstops with 493 assists, third with 319 putouts, and fourth with 54 double plays.
Stockton, Butte, Detroit and Philadelphia (1900–01)
On April 3, 1900, the Detroit Tigers purchased four former Spiders: Lochhead, Sport McAllister, Dick Harley, and Suter Sullivan. However, Lochhead did not join the Tigers in 1900, opting instead to return to California where he played for the Stockton Wasps in the California League. He sustained an ankle injury during the 1900 season that slowed him for the remainder of his career. He also played part of the 1900 season for the Butte Smoke Eaters, batting.382 in 34 at bats. After the Tigers became a major league team in 1901, Lochhead played only one more game for the team. In four at bats, Lochhead had two hits, was hit by a pitch, and scored two runs for the Tigers, for a.500 batting average and.600 on-base percentage. The Tigers sold Lochhead to the Philadelphia Athletics on April 29, 1901. Lochhead batted.088 in nine games for the Athletics. He also made nine errors in 37 chances at shortstop for a.757 fielding percentage. He played his last major league game on May 15, 1901.
After retiring from baseball, Lochhead lived with his mother in Stockton, California, working as an attendant at the state hospital. He later worked as a bartender in Sacramento. By 1908, Lochhead had become ill with a liver ailment described by some sources as hepatitis and by others as cirrhosis. In August 1908, Lochhead died at age 33 at his mother's home in Stockton, California. He became lost in the desert with a group of friends near Bakersfield, California, in July 1908, and the exposure in the desert aggravated his poor health.
