Latham stole 129 bases during the 1887 season. His career total of 742 ranks seventh all-time in the majors. As a player-coach for the 1909 Giants, Latham at age 49 became the oldest MLB player to steal a base.

After his retirement as a player, he became what is acknowledged as the first full-time base coach in baseball history. For years he served as a coach and manager in minor league baseball.

After retiring from baseball, Latham traveled to Great Britain, where he organized baseball matches for soldiers during World War I, and taught baseball to the British. He later worked in baseball as a press box attendant.

Latham's father served as a bugler for the Union Army in the American Civil War. Latham became interested in baseball when soldiers returning from the battlefield brought the game of baseball with them. At the age of fourteen, Latham played with a local team from Stoneham, Massachusetts as their catcher. He played in the field barehanded. In 1877, he played for a team in Pittsfield, Massachusetts as the third baseman.

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