His death certificate said he was born in Wisconsin (and on Baseball-Reference.com, it says 1860 in Beloit as of October 30, 2024), but after digging around (and getting lucky in Ancestry.com) I was able to correct his birth information.

Graham wasn’t born in Wisconsin – his parents had moved there sometime in the 1880s.  After he died, he was to be buried in Catholic Cemetery in Mobile.  However, when word came from his mother, teammates and members of a local fire department (which makes you wonder if he didn’t put in time there) pooled together enough money to return his body to his family in Beloit, Wisconsin, and Graham is buried in Calvary Cemetery there.

Bernard William Graham arrived in Burrillville, Rhode Island, the second child of eight kids born to Irish immigrants Thomas and Rosa (Connor) Graham on February 10, 1863.  Thomas came to the US first in 1855, then sent for Rosa to join him two years later.  He worked in various mills in Rhode Island and Massachusetts; she took care of a very busy family.

After he left school, Barney worked as a weaver in a Pawtucket mill, joining his father and older brother in the mills.  He also played baseball, eventually signing with Worcester of the Massachusetts State League in 1884.  Worcester was at the top of the standings and Graham batted at the top of the lineup while playing left field.

He was given a tryout with the Chicago Unions on July 11, 1884 against the Boston Unions.  Graham got a hit in five at bats, scored two runs, and played an error free left field.  And, he wasn’t the only Worcester player to get a shot.  James “Chippy” McGarr made his debut in that game and starting pitcher Joseph “Cyclone” Miller also debuted in that game, getting the easy win.  However, the three would only appear in that one game for Chicago.

At first, all three were suspended by Worcester for breaking their contract with Worcester, and they were blacklisted by Organized Baseball.  Miller, however, was reinstated and then sold to the Providence Grays.  Graham and McGarr had to wait longer for their baseball fates – but not too much longer.  McGarr would just stay with Chicago, and while he didn’t fare that well he would get other chances and his major league career lasted until 1896.

Graham was reinstated by Worcester in August, but soon after Graham joined the Baltimore Monumentals in the Union Association where he would play the outfield and (occasionally) first base, bat .267 with 11 doubles in his 41 games to close out the season.

The Union Association closed up shop after the 1884 season; Graham looked elsewhere to play in 1885 and landed with Omaha in the Western League. However, that franchise disbanded by early June.  As spring turned to summer he would sign with Memphis in the Southern League.  He’d stay in Tennesse for 1886, starting with Chattanooga where his speed in the outfield earned notice. When he joined Chattanooga, articles said nobody ran faster from home to first than Graham.

“An Atlanta critic, after seeing Barney Graham of the Chattanooga’s play center field for three successive games, wrote that it was a useless expenditure of money to have a left and right fielder, as Graham was capable of covering the entire outfield alone.”

– “Diamond Dust,” Memphis Avalanche, June 18, 1886: 8.

Still, having signed a few players with major league experience (examples: Tug Arundel, Buttercup Dixon) Chattanooga looked to sell Graham to get some cash.  Instead, he was released (to save cash) and resigned by Memphis.  Between teams, he umpired a Southern League game in Atlanta.  When the season ended, Graham took a position with Mobile in the Gulf League.  He hadn’t been in Mobile long before he fell ill with typhoid fever from which he’d never recover.  Two teammates, Eddie Fusselback and Dick Phelan, spent nights when not playing ball at Graham’s side at the Providence Infirmary in Mobile right until the end and were responsible for organizing the delivery of Graham’s remains to Wisconsin. 

Graham was just 23 when asked to move to the next league on October 30, 1886.

Notes:

Rhode Island Birth Registrations
Milwaukee, Wisconsin Marriage Registrations
1865 Rhode Island Census
1870, 1880, 1900 US Census
1882 Pawtucket City Directory
Baseball-Reference.com 
FindaGrave.com

“Chicago Unions, 10; Boston Unions, 2,” Boston Globe, July 11, 1884: 3.
“The Worcester Club,” (Lynn, MA) Daily Item, July 15, 1884: 3.
“Worcesters, 8; Springfields, 3,” Boston Globe, June 29, 1884: 3.
“Pick-ups,” (Lynn, MA) Daily Item, August 5, 1884: 4.
“The First Time,” Boston Globe, August 19, 1884: 1.
“Omaha Got the Ball,” Omaha Daily Bee, May 2, 1885: 5.
Omaha Daily Bee, June 4, 1885: 4.
“Base Ball,” Chattanooga Daily Times, February 12, 1886: 8.
“Baseball Notes,” Memphis Daily Appeal, July 23, 1886: 5.
“Notes,” Chattanooga Daily Times, July 26, 1886: 5.
“Farewells,” Nashville Tennessean, September 6, 1886: 4.
“Death of a Well Known Ball Player,” Mobile Register, October 31, 1886: 5.
“Barney Graham’s Funeral,” Mobile Register, November 2, 1886: 4.
“Graham’s Remains Forwarded,” Mobile Register, November 3, 1886: 4.