Billy Sunday

William Ashley Sunday (November 19, 1862 – November 6, 1935) was an American athlete and religious figure who, after being a popular outfielder in baseball's National League during the 1880s, became the most celebrated and influential American evangelist during the first two decades of the 20th century. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 429 × 599 pixel Image in higher resolution (458 × 640 pixel, file size: 13 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Date 1921-04 Author unknown Permission No known restrictions on publication. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 429 × 599 pixel Image in higher resolution (458 × 640 pixel, file size: 13 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Date 1921-04 Author unknown Permission No known restrictions on publication. ... November 19 is the 323rd day of the year (324th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1862 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... November 6 is the 310th day of the year (311th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1935 (MCMXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar). ... The Washington National Cathedral, located in the capital of the U.S., is one of the largest churches in the country. ... Austin Kearns, an outfielder, catches a fly ball. ... The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the National League, is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada and the worlds oldest extant professional team sports league. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Born into poverty, Sunday spent some years in an orphanage before taking a series of odd jobs in several small Iowa towns as he demonstrated his prowess in amateur athletics. His exceptional speed provided him the opportunity to play baseball in the major leagues for eight years. He was known for his daring base-running and dramatic outfield play, but he was only an average hitter. An orphanage (historically an orphans asylum before the latter word took on its modern insane asylum connotation) is an institution dedicated to caring for orphans (children who have lost their parents) and abused, abandoned, and neglected children. ... This article is about the U.S. State. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...

Converted to evangelical Christianity in the 1880s, Sunday left baseball for the Christian ministry. He gradually developed his skills as a pulpit evangelist in the Midwest and then, during the early 20th century, he became the nation's most famous evangelist with his colloquial sermons and frenetic delivery. The word evangelicalism usually refers to a broad collection of religious beliefs, practices, and traditions which are found among conservative Protestant Christians. ... Christianity percentage by country, purple is highest, orange is lowest Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Tyndale · Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... A sermon is an oration by a prophet or member of the clergy. ...

Sunday held heavily reported campaigns in America's largest cities, made a great deal of money, and was welcomed into the homes of the wealthy and influential. Perhaps more than a million people came forward at his invitations, and he may have personally preached the gospel of Jesus Christ to more people than any other person in history up to that time. Sunday was a strong supporter of Prohibition, and his preaching almost certainly played a significant role in the adoption of the Eighteenth Amendment in 1919. Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Amendment XVIII in the National Archives Prohibition agents destroying barrels of alcohol. ...

Despite questions about his income, no scandal ever touched Sunday. He was sincerely devoted to his wife, who also managed his campaigns. But his three sons disappointed him, and his audiences grew smaller during the 1920s as Sunday grew older and alternate sources of entertainment preoccupied his countrymen. Nevertheless, he continued to preach and remained a stalwart bolster of conservative Christianity until his death. This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

Early life

Billy Sunday was born near Ames, Iowa. His father, William Sunday, was a Union soldier during the Civil War who had enlisted in the Iowa Twenty-Third Volunteer Infantry and died of disease at Patterson, Missouri, five weeks after the birth of his youngest son. When Sunday was ten years old, his impoverished mother was forced to send him and his older brother to the Soldiers' Orphans Home in Glenwood, Iowa. At the orphanage, Sunday gained orderly habits, a decent primary education, and the realization that he had exceptional athletic ability.^[1] Main Street in downtown Ames in 2006 Ames is a city located in Central Iowa, about 30 miles North of Des Moines in Story County, Iowa, United States. ... The 21st Michigan Infantry, a company of Shermans veterans. ... This article is becoming very long. ... Patterson is an unincorporated community in Wayne County, Missouri. ... Glenwood is a city in Mills County, Iowa, United States. ...

By fourteen, Sunday was shifting for himself. In Nevada, Iowa, he worked for Colonel John Scott, a former lieutenant governor, tending Shetland ponies and doing other farm chores. The Scotts provided Sunday a loving home and the opportunity to attend Nevada High School, which had a fine local reputation.^[2] Although Sunday never received a high school diploma, by 1880 he was better educated than the typical American of his day.^[3] Story County Courthouse Nevada is a city in Story County, Iowa, United States. ... A Shetland pony with its heavy winter coat beginning to shed Shetland ponies are small horses, that are very strong for their size. ...

In 1880, Sunday moved to Marshalltown, Iowa, where, because of his athleticism, he had been recruited for a fire brigade team. In Marshalltown, Sunday worked at odd jobs, competed in fire brigade tournaments, and played for the town baseball team. In 1882, with Sunday in left field, the Marshalltown team defeated the state champion Des Moines team 15-6.^[4] Marshalltown is a city located in Marshall County, Iowa. ... The position of the left fielder A left fielder, abbreviated LF, is an outfielder in the sport of baseball who plays defense in left field. ... Nickname: Hartford of the West, City of Skywalks, Raccoon City, DSM Location in the State of Iowa, USA Coordinates: Country United States State Iowa County Polk County Incorporated September 22, 1851 Government  - Mayor Frank Cownie Area  - City  77. ...

Professional baseball player

Sunday's professional baseball career was launched by Adrian "Cap" Anson, a Marshalltown native and future Hall of Famer, after his aunt, an avid fan of the Marshalltown team, gave him an enthusiastic account of Sunday's prowess. In 1883, on Anson's recommendation, A.G. Spalding, president of the Chicago White Stockings, signed Sunday to the defending National League champions.^[5] Image File history File links Download high resolution version (349x640, 32 KB)Billy Sunday with the White Stockings (now Cubs) From memory. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (349x640, 32 KB)Billy Sunday with the White Stockings (now Cubs) From memory. ... Anson in 1888 Adrian Constantine Cap Anson (April 11, 1852, Marshalltown, Iowa - April 14, 1922, Chicago, Illinois) was a professional baseball player in the National Association and Major League Baseball for the Rockford Forest Citys, Philadelphia Athletics, and Chicago White Stockings. ... The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, located at 62 Main Street in Cooperstown, New York, is a semi-official museum operated by private interests serving as the central point for the study of the history of baseball in the United States and beyond, the display of baseball-related... Al Spaldings sporting goods company made a lasting impact on baseball. ... Major league affiliations National League (1876–present) Central Division (1994–present) Current uniform Retired Numbers 10, 14, 23, 26, 42 Name Chicago Cubs (1902–present) Chicago Orphans (1898-1901) Chicago Colts (1890-1897) Chicago White Stockings (1870-1889) (a. ...

Sunday struck out four times in his first game, and there were seven more strikeouts and three more games before he got a hit. During his first four seasons with Chicago, he was a part-time player, taking superstar Mike "King" Kelly's place in right field when Kelly served as catcher.^[6] Cincinnati Reds outfielder Adam Dunn strikes out swinging to Atlanta Braves pitcher John Smoltz (not pictured). ... In Major League Baseball history, Ty Cobb had a record 4,191 hits by 1928; Pete Rose would surpass it 57 years later, and finish with 4,256 career hits. ... $10,000 Kelly baseball card, ca. ... The position of the right fielder A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in right field (e. ... The position of the catcher Catcher is also a general term for a fielder who catches the ball in cricket. ...

Sunday's speed was his greatest asset, and he displayed it on the basepaths and in the outfield. In 1885, the White Stockings arranged a race between Sunday and Arlie Latham, the fastest runner in the American Association. Sunday won the hundred-yard dash by ten feet.^[7] Walter Arlington Latham (March 15, 1860-November 29, 1952) was an American baseball player from 1880 -1909. ... The American Association (AA) was a baseball major league from 1882 to 1891. ...

Sunday's personality, demeanor, and athleticism made him popular with the fans, as well as with his teammates. Manager Cap Anson considered Sunday reliable enough to make him the team's business manager, which included such routine duties as making travel arrangements and carrying thousands of dollars of team cash.^[8]

In 1887, when Kelly was sold to another team, Sunday became Chicago's regular right fielder, but an injury limited his playing time to fifty games. During the following winter Sunday was sold to the Pittsburgh Alleghenies for the 1888 season. He was their starting center fielder, playing a full season for the first time in his career. The crowds in Pittsburgh took to Sunday immediately; one reporter wrote that "the whole town is wild over Sunday." One reason why Pittsburgh fans supported a losing team during the 1888 and 1889 seasons was that Sunday performed well in center field as well as being among the league leaders in stolen bases.^[9] Major league affiliations National League (1887–present) Central Division (1994–present) Current uniform Retired Numbers 1, 4, 8, 9, 20, 21, 33, 40, 42 Name Pittsburgh Pirates (1891–present) Pittsburgh Innocents (1890) Pittsburg Alleghenies (1882–1889) (Also referred to as Infants in 1890) Ballpark PNC Park (2001–present) Three Rivers... The position of the center fielder A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field - the baseball fielding position between left field and right field (e. ... The all-time stolen base leader, Rickey Henderson, swipes third in 1988. ...

In 1890, a labor dispute led to the formation of a new league, composed of most of the better players from the National League. Although he was invited to join the competing league, Sunday's conscience would not allow him to break his contract with Pittsburgh. Sunday was named team captain, and he was their star player, but the team suffered one of the worst seasons in baseball history. By August the team had no money to meet its payroll, and Sunday was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies for two players and $1,000 in cash.^[10] The Players League, also known as The Brotherhood, was an attempt to establish a third major baseball league in 1890. ... Major league affiliations National League (1883–present) East Division (1969–present) Current uniform Retired Numbers 1, 14, 20, 32, 36, 42 Name Philadelphia Phillies (1883–present) Philadelphia Quakers (1882) (Commonly referred to as Blue Jays 1943-1945 despite formal name remaining Phillies) Ballpark Citizens Bank Park (2004–present) Veterans Stadium...

The Philadelphia team had an opportunity to win the National League pennant, and the owners hoped that adding Sunday to the roster would improve their chances. Although Sunday played brilliantly in his thirty-one games with Philadelphia, the team finished in third place.^[11]

In March 1891, Sunday requested and was granted a release from his contract with the Philadelphia ball club. Over his career, Sunday was never much of a hitter: his batting average was .248 over 499 games, about the median for the 1880s. In his best season, in 1887, Sunday hit .291, ranking 17th in the league. He was an exciting but inconsistent fielder. In the days before outfielders wore gloves, Sunday was noted for brilliant catches featuring long sprints and athletic dives, but he also committed a great many errors. Sunday was best known as an exceptionally fast runner, regarded by his peers as one of the best in the game, even though he never placed better than third in the National League in stolen bases.^[12] Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball measuring the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters, respectively. ... In baseball, an error is the act, in the judgment of the official scorer, of a fielder misplaying a ball in a manner that allows a batter or baserunner to reach one or more additional bases, when such an advance should have been prevented given ordinary effort by the fielder. ...

Sunday remained a prominent baseball fan throughout his life. He gave interviews and opinions about baseball to the popular press;^[13] he frequently umpired minor league and amateur games in the cities where he held revivals; and he attended baseball games whenever he could, including a 1935 World Series game two months before he died. Home plate umpire Gary Darling signals that the last pitch was a strike In baseball, the umpire is the person charged with officiating the game, including beginning and ending the game, enforcing the rules of the game and the grounds, making judgment calls on plays, and meting out discipline. ... The 1935 World Series featured the Detroit Tigers and the Chicago Cubs, with the Tigers winning in 6 games for their first championship in five Series appearances. ...

Conversion

On a Sunday afternoon during either the 1886 or 1887 baseball season, Sunday and his teammates had drunk a few beers and were wandering the streets of Chicago on their day off. At one corner they stopped to listen to a street preaching team from the Pacific Garden Mission. Sunday was attracted to the old gospel songs that he had heard his mother sing, and he began attending services at the mission. A former society matron who worked there finally convinced Sunday that he must accept Christ, and after some struggle, he did so. The effect was immediate. Sunday stopped drinking and began faithfully attending the fashionable Jefferson Park Presbyterian Church, a congregation handy to both the ball park and his rented room.^[14] Nickname: Motto: Urbs In Horto (Latin: City in a Garden), I Will Location in the Chicago metro area and Illinois Coordinates: Country United States State Illinois County Cook & DuPage Incorporated March 4, 1837 Government  - Mayor Richard M. Daley (D) Area  - City  234. ... Pacific Garden Mission is a homeless shelter in Chicago, Illinois founded in 1877 by Colonel George Clarke and his wife Sarah. ... Presbyterianism is a form of church government which is most prevalent within the Reformed branch of Protestant Western Christianity. ...

Even before his conversion, Sunday's lifestyle seems to have been less boisterous than that of the average contemporary baseball player. Nevertheless, after his conversion, his changed behavior was recognized by both teammates and fans. Sunday shortly thereafter began speaking in churches and at YMCAs.^[15] This article is about the association. ...

Marriage

In 1886, Sunday was introduced at Jefferson Park Presbyterian Church to Helen Amelia "Nell" Thompson, daughter of the owner of one of Chicago's largest dairy products businesses. Although Sunday was immediately smitten with her, both had serious on-going relationships that bordered on engagements.^[16] Furthermore, Miss Thompson had grown to maturity in a much more privileged environment than had Sunday, and her father strongly discouraged the courtship, viewing all professional baseball players as "transient ne'er-do-wells who were unstable and destined to be misfits once they were too old to play." Nevertheless, Sunday pursued her with the same tenacity that he pursued baseball and the Gospel. On several occasions, Sunday said, "She was a Presbyterian, so I am a Presbyterian. Had she been a Catholic, I would have been a Catholic—because I was hot on the trail of Nell." Mrs. Thompson had liked Sunday from the start and weighed in on his side, and Mr. Thompson finally relented. The couple was married on September 5, 1888.^[17] Helen Amelia Thompson Sunday (June 25, 1868 – February 20, 1957) was the wife of Billy Sunday, an indefatigable organizer of his huge evangelistic campaigns during the first decades of the twentieth century, and eventually an evangelistic speaker in her own right. ... September 5 is the 248th day of the year (249th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1888 (MDCCCLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Tuesday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ...

Appenticeship for evangelism

In the spring of 1891, Sunday turned down a $400 per month baseball contract in order to accept a position with the Chicago YMCA at $83 per month. Sunday's job title at the YMCA was Assistant Secretary, but the position involved a great deal of ministerial work. It proved to be good preparation for his later evangelistic career. For three years, Sunday visited the sick, prayed with the troubled, counseled the suicidal, and visited saloons to invite patrons to evangelistic meetings.^[18]

In 1893, Sunday became the full-time assistant to J. Wilbur Chapman, one of the best known evangelists in the United States at the time. Chapman was well educated and was a meticulous dresser, suave and urbane. Personally shy, like Sunday, Chapman commanded respect in the pulpit both because of his strong voice and his sophisticated demeanor. Sunday's job as Chapman's advance man was to precede the evangelist to cities in which he was scheduled to preach, organize prayer meetings and choirs, and in general take care of necessary details. When tents were used, Sunday would often help erect them. J Wilbur Chapman, evangelist John Wilbur Chapman (June 17, 1859 in Richmond, Indiana-December 25, 1918 in New York, New York) was a presbyterian evangelist in the late 19th Century, generally traveling with gospel singer Charles Alexander. ...

By listening to Chapman preach night after night, Sunday received a valuable course in homiletics. Chapman also critiqued Sunday's own attempts at evangelistic preaching and showed him how to put a good sermon together. Further, Chapman encouraged Sunday's theological development, especially by emphasizing the importance of prayer and by helping to "reinforce Billy's commitment to conservative biblical Christianity."^[19] This article includes a list of works cited or a list of external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ...

Popular evangelist

Kerosene Circuit

When Chapman unexpectedly returned to the pastorate in 1896, Sunday struck out on his own, beginning with meetings in tiny Garner, Iowa. For the next twelve years Sunday preached in approximately seventy communities, most of them in Iowa and Illinois. Sunday referred to these towns as the “Kerosene Circuit” because, unlike Chicago, most were not yet electrified. Towns often booked Sunday meetings informally, sometimes by sending a delegation to hear him preach and then telegraphing him while he was holding services somewhere else. Garner is a city in Hancock County, Iowa, United States. ... Official language(s) English[1] Capital Springfield Largest city Chicago Largest metro area Chicago Area  Ranked 25th  - Total 57,918 sq mi (149,998 km²)  - Width 210 miles (340 km)  - Length 390 miles (629 km)  - % water 4. ...

Sunday also took advantage of his reputation as a baseball player to generate advertising for his meetings. In 1907 in Fairfield, Iowa, Sunday organized local businesses into two baseball teams and scheduled a game between them. Sunday came dressed in his professional uniform and played on both sides. Although baseball was his primary means of publicity, Sunday also once hired a circus giant to serve as an usher.^[20] Fairfield is a city in Jefferson County, Iowa. ...

When Sunday began to attract crowds larger than could be accommodated in rural churches or town halls, he pitched rented canvas tents. Again, Sunday did much of the physical work of putting them up, manipulating ropes during storms, and seeing to their security by sleeping in them at night. Not until 1905 was he well enough off to hire his own advance man.^[21]

In 1906, an October snowstorm in Salida, Colorado, destroyed Sunday's tent—a special disaster because revivalists were typically paid with a freewill offering at the end of their meetings. Thereafter he insisted that towns build him temporary wooden tabernacles at their expense. The tabernacles were comparatively costly to build (although most of the lumber could be salvaged and resold at the end of the meetings), and obviously, locals had to put up the money for them in advance. This change in Sunday's operation began to push the finances of the campaign to the fore. At least at first, raising tabernacles provided good public relations for the coming meetings as townspeople joined together in what was effectively a giant barnraising. Sunday built rapport by participating in the process, and the tabernacles were also a status symbol, because they had previously been built only for major evangelists such as Chapman.^[22] Salida is a city located in Chaffee County, Colorado. ... It has been suggested that Great Awakening be merged into this article or section. ...

Under the administration of Nell

Eleven years into Sunday's evangelistic career, both he and his wife had been pushed to their emotional limits. Long separations had exacerbated his natural feelings of inadequacy and insecurity. As a product of a childhood that could well be described as a series of losses, he was extremely dependent on his wife's love and encouragement. Nell Sunday, for her part, found it increasingly difficult to handle household responsibilities, the needs of four children (including a newborn), and the long-distance emotional welfare of her husband. His ministry was also expanding, and he needed an administrator, a job for which his wife was ideally suited. In 1908, the Sundays decided to entrust their children to a nanny so that Nell Sunday could manage the revival campaigns.^[23]

Mrs. Sunday transformed her husband's out-of-the-back-pocket organization into a “nationally renowned phenomenon.” New personnel were hired, and by the New York campaign of 1917, the Sundays had a paid staff of twenty-six. There were musicians, custodians, and advance men, of course; but the Sundays also hired Bible teachers of both sexes, who among other responsibilities, held daytime meetings at schools and shops and encouraged their audiences to attend the main tabernacle services in the evenings. The most significant of these new staff members were Homer Rodeheaver, an exceptional song leader and music director who worked with the Sundays for almost twenty years, and Virginia Healey Asher, who (besides regularly singing duets with Rodeheaver) directed the women's ministries, especially the evangelization of young working women.^[24] NY redirects here. ... Homer Alvan Rodeheaver (October 4, 1880 – December 18, 1955) was an American evangelistic music director, music publisher, composer of gospel songs, and pioneer in the recording of sacred music. ... Virginia Asher Virginia Healey Asher (December 18, 1869 - December 1937) was a gospel singer and evangelist to women. ...

Campaign platform

With his wife administering the campaign organization, Sunday was free to do what he did best: compose and deliver colloquial sermons. Typically, Homer Rodeheaver would first warm up the crowd with congregational singing that alternated with both numbers from gigantic choirs and music performed by the staff. When Sunday felt the moment right, he would launch into his message. Sunday gyrated, stood on the pulpit, ran from one end of the platform to the other, and dove across the stage, pretending to slide into home plate. Sometimes he even smashed chairs to emphasize his points. His sermon notes had to be printed in large letters so that he could catch a glimpse of them as he raced by the pulpit. Some religious and social leaders criticized Sunday's exaggerated gestures as well as the slang and colloquialisms that filled his sermons, but audiences clearly enjoyed them.^[25]

Crowd noise, especially coughing and crying babies, was a significant impediment to Sunday's preaching because the wooden tabernacles were so acoustically live. During his preliminaries, Rodeheaver often instructed audiences about how to muffle their coughs. Nurseries were always provided, infants forbidden, and Sunday sometimes appeared rude in his haste to rid the hall of noisy children who had slipped through the ushers. Tabernacle floors were covered with sawdust to dampen the noise of shuffling feet (as well as for its pleasant smell and its ability to hold down the dust of dirt floors), and coming forward during the invitation became known as “hitting the sawdust trail.”^[26]

By 1910, Sunday began to conduct meetings (usually longer than a month) in small cities like Youngstown, Wilkes-Barre, South Bend, and Denver, and then finally, between 1915 and 1917, the major cities of Philadelphia, Syracuse, Kansas City, Detroit, Boston, Buffalo, and New York City. During the 1910s, Sunday was front page news in the cities where he held campaigns. Newspapers often printed his sermons in full, and during World War I, local coverage of his campaigns often surpassed that of the war. Sunday was the subject of over sixty articles in major periodicals, and he was a staple of the religious press regardless of denomination.^[27] Image File history File links SundayNYCTabernacle. ... Location within the state of Ohio Coordinates: Country United States State Ohio Counties Mahoning Founded 1796 Incorporated 1848 (village) - 1867 (city) Government  - Mayor Jay Williams (I) Area  - City  34. ... Nickname: The Diamond City Motto: Pattern After Us Coordinates: Country United States State Pennsylvania County Luzerne Founded Incorporated  Borough  City 1769  1806  1871 Government  - Mayor Thomas M. Leighton (D) Area    - City  7. ... Location in the state of Indiana Coordinates: County St. ... Nickname: Location of Denver in Colorado Location of Colorado in the United States Coordinates: Country United States State Colorado City-County Denver (coextensive) Founded [1] November 22, 1858 Incorporated November 7, 1861 Government  - Type Strong Mayor/Weak Council  - Mayor John Hickenlooper (D) Area [1]  - City & County  154. ... Nickname: City of Brotherly Love, Philly, the Quaker City Motto: Philadelphia maneto (Let brotherly love continue) Location in Pennsylvania Coordinates: Country United States State Pennsylvania County Philadelphia Founded October 27, 1682 Incorporated October 25, 1701 Mayor John F. Street (D) Area    - City 369. ... Nickname: The Salt City Location of Syracuse within the state of New York Coordinates: City Government  - Mayor Matthew Driscoll Area  - City 66. ... Nickname: Location in Jackson, Clay, Platte, and Cass Counties in the state of Missouri. ... Nickname: Motto: Speramus Meliora; Resurget Cineribus (Latin for, We Hope For Better Things; It Shall Rise From the Ashes) Location in Wayne County, Michigan Coordinates: Country United States State Michigan County Wayne County Settled 1701 Incorporation 1806 Government  - Type Strong Mayor-Council  - Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick Area  - City  143. ... Nickname: Location in Massachusetts, USA Coordinates: Country United States State Massachusetts County Suffolk County Government  - Mayor Thomas M. Menino (D) Area  - City  89. ... Nickname: Location of Buffalo in New York State County Erie County Government  - Mayor Byron Brown Area  - City 52. ... “New York, NY” redirects here. ...

Over the course of his career, Sunday probably preached to more than one hundred million people face-to-face—and, to the great majority, without electronic amplification. The vast numbers who "hit the sawdust trail" are also remarkable. Although the usual total given for those who came forward at invitations is an even million, one modern historian estimates the true figure to be closer to 1,250,000.^[28] Of course Sunday did not preach to hundred million different individuals but to many of the same people repeatedly during the course of a campaign. Before his death, Sunday estimated that he had preached nearly 20,000 sermons, an average of 42 per month from 1896 to 1935. During his heyday, when he was preaching more than twenty times each week, his crowds were often huge. Even in 1923, well into the period of his decline, 479,300 people attended the 79 meetings of the six-week 1923 Columbia, South Carolina, campaign. That number was 23 times the white population of Columbia. Nevertheless,"trail hitters" were not necessarily conversions (or even "reconsecrations") to Christianity. Sometimes whole groups of club members came forward forward en masse at Sunday's prodding. Undoubtedly some audience members simply wanted to shake Sunday's hand. By 1927, Rodeheaver was complaining that Sunday's invitations had become so general that they were meaningless.^[29] Nickname: Location in Richland County in the state of South Carolina Coordinates: Country United States State South Carolina Counties Richland County, South Carolina Government  - Mayor Bob Coble, (D) Area  - City 346. ...

Wages of success

Large crowds and an efficient organization meant that Sunday, the former resident of an orphan home, was soon netting hefty offerings. The first questions about Sunday's income were apparently raised during the Columbus, Ohio, campaign at the turn of 1912-13. During the Pittsburgh campaign a year later, Sunday spoke four times per day and effectively made $217 per sermon or $870 a day at a time when the average gainfully employed worker made $836 per year. The major cities of Chicago, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Boston, and New York City gave Sunday even larger love offerings. Sunday donated Chicago's offering of $58,000 to Pacific Garden Mission and the $120,500 New York offering to war charities. Nevertheless, between 1908 and 1920, the Sundays earned over a million dollars; an average worker during the same period earned less than $14,000.^[30] Nickname: Location in the state of Ohio, USA Coordinates: Country United States State Ohio Counties Franklin, Delaware, and Fairfield Government  - Mayor Michael B. Coleman (D) Area  - City  212. ... Nickname: Motto: The Greatest City in America,[4] Get in on it. ...

Sunday was welcomed into the circle of the social, economic, and political elite. He counted among his neighbors and acquaintances several prominent businessmen. Sunday dined with numerous politicians, including Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson, and counted both Herbert Hoover and John D. Rockefeller, Jr. as friends.^[31] During and after the 1917 Los Angeles campaign, the Sundays visited with Hollywood stars, and members of Sunday's organization played a charity baseball game against a team of show business personalities that included Douglas Fairbanks.^[32] Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. ... Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856 – February 3, 1924), was the 28th President of the United States. ... Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964), the 31st President of the United States (1929–1933), was a world-famous mining engineer and humanitarian administrator. ... John D. Rockefeller Jr. ... Nickname: Location within Los Angeles County in the state of California Coordinates: State California County Los Angeles County Incorporated April 4, 1850 Government  - Type Mayor-Council  - Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa  - City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo  - Governing body City Council Area  - City  498. ... ... Douglas Fairbanks (May 23, 1883 – December 12, 1939) was an American actor, screenwriter, director and producer, who became noted for his swashbuckling roles in silent movies such as The Mark of Zorro (1920), The Three Musketeers (1921), Robin Hood (1922), The Thief of Bagdad (1924) and The Black Pirate (1926). ...

The Sundays enjoyed dressing well and dressing their children well; the family sported expensive but tasteful coats, boots, and jewelry. Mrs. Sunday also bought land as an investment. A fruit orchard farm and rustic cabin at Hood River, Oregon, caught the attention of reporters, who called it a "ranch." Sunday was a soft touch with money and gave away much of his earnings.^[33] Neither of the Sundays were extravagant spenders. Although Sunday enjoyed driving, the couple never owned a car. Their American Craftsman-style bungalow at Winona Lake, Indiana, where the Sundays had moved their legal residence in 1911, was furnished in the popular Arts and Crafts style and had two safes, but the house had only nine rooms, 2,500-square-feet of living space, and no garage.^[34] Windsurfing and kitesurfing on the Columbia River at Hood River, Oregon. ... Craftsman-style bungalow in San Diego, California The American Craftsman Style, or the American Arts and Crafts Movement, is an American domestic architectural, interior design, and decorative arts style popular from last years of the 19th century through the early years of the 20th century. ... Winona Lake is a town located in Kosciusko County, Indiana. ... Artichoke wallpaper, by John Henry Dearle for William Morris & Co. ...

Religious views

Billy Sunday was a conservative evangelical who accepted fundamentalist doctrines. He affirmed and preached the inerrancy of the Bible, the virgin birth of Christ, the doctrine of substitutionary atonement, the bodily resurrection of Jesus, a literal devil and hell, and the imminent return of Jesus Christ. At the turn of the 20th century, most Protestant church members, regardless of denomination, gave assent to these doctrines (except, perhaps, for the imminent return of Christ). Sunday refused to hold meetings in cities where he was not welcomed by the vast majority of the Protestant churches and their clergy. (Dissenting clergymen found it politic to limit their objections to Sunday's theology while he was adding new members to their congregations.)^[35] Evangelicalism, in a strictly lexical, but rarely used sense, refers to all things that are implied in belief that Jesus is the savior. ... Fundamentalist Christianity, or Christian fundamentalism, is a movement that arose mainly within British and American Protestantism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by conservative evangelical Christians, who, in a reaction to modernism, actively affirmed a fundamental set of Christian beliefs: the inerrancy of the Bible, Sola Scriptura, the... Biblical inerrancy is the doctrinal position [1] that in its original form, the Bible is without error; referring to the complete accuracy of Scripture, including the historical and scientific parts. ... The Virgin Birth is a key doctrine of the Christian faith, and is also held to be true by Muslims (Quran 3. ... Substitutionary atonement is the act of restoring balances by substitution. ... The death and resurrection of Jesus are two events in the New Testament in which Jesus is crucified on one day (the Day of Preparation, i. ... Satan frozen at the center of Cocytus, the ninth circle of Hell in Dantes Inferno. ... Medieval illustration of Hell in the Hortus deliciarum manuscript of Herrad of Landsberg (about 1180) Hell, according to many religious beliefs, is an afterlife of suffering where the wicked or unrighteous dead are punished. ... The Second Coming refers to the Christian belief in the return of Jesus Christ, an event that will fulfill aspects of Messianic prophecy such as the resurrection of the dead, last judgment and full establishment of the Kingdom of God on earth (also called the Reign of God), including the... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Tyndale · Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      Protestantism encompasses the forms...

Nevertheless, Sunday was not a separationist as were most orthodox Protestants of his era. He went out of his way to avoid criticizing the Roman Catholic Church and even met with Cardinal Gibbons during his 1916 Baltimore campaign. Also, cards filled out by "trail hitters" were faithfully returned to the church or denomination that the writers had indicated as their choice—including Catholic and Unitarian.^[36] James Cardinal Gibbons (23 July 1834 - 24 March 1921) was the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Baltimore from 1877 until his death, and in 1886 became the second man from the United States to be made a cardinal. ... It has been suggested that Unitarian Christianity be merged into this article or section. ...

Although Sunday was ordained by the Presbyterian Church in 1903, his ministry was nondenominational, and he was not a strict Calvinist. He preached that individuals were, at least in part, responsible for their own salvation. “Trail hitters” were given a four-page tract that stated, “if you have done your part (i.e. believe that Christ died in your place, and receive Him as your Saviour and Master) God has done HIS part and imparted to you His own nature.”^[37] Emblem of the PC(USA) The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) or PC(USA) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination in the United States. ... Calvinism is a theological system and an approach to the Christian life that emphasizes Gods sovereignty in all things. ... In theology, salvation can mean three related things: being saved from something, such as suffering or the punishment of sin - also called deliverance; being saved for something, such as an afterlife or participating in the Reign of God - also called redemption; being saved through a process of healing or transformation...

Sunday was neither a theologian nor an intellectual, but he had a thorough knowledge of the Bible, and he was well read on religious and social issues of his day. His surviving Winona Lake library of six hundred books gives evidence of heavy use, including underscoring and reader's notes in his characteristic all-caps printing. Some of Sunday's books were even those of religious opponents. He was later charged with plagiarizing a Decoration Day speech given by the noted agnostic Robert Ingersoll.^[38] This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Relatives and others traditionally place flags near veterans headstones on Memorial Day Memorial Day is a United States public holiday that takes place on the last Monday of May. ... NAHNERZ NAHNERZ NAHNERZ NAHNERZ NAHNERZ NAHNERZ NAHNERZ NAHNERZ NAHNERZ NAHNERZ NAHNERZ NAHNERZ NAHNERZ NAHNERZ NAHNERZ NAHNERZ NAHNERZ NAHNERZ NAHNERZ NAHNERZ NAHNERZ NAHNERZ NAHNERZ NAHNERZ NAHNERZ NAHNERZ NAHNERZ NAHNERZ NAHNERZ NAHNERZ NAHNERZ NAHNERZ NAHNERZ NAHNERZ NAHNERZ NAHNERZ NAHNERZ NAHNERZ NAHNERZ NAHNERZ NAHNERZ NAHNERZ NAHNERZ NAHNERZ NAHNERZ NAHNERZ NAHNERZ NAHNERZ NAHNERZ NAHNERZ...

Social and political views

Sunday was a lifelong Republican, and he espoused the mainstream political and social views of his native Midwest: individualism, competitiveness, personal discipline, and opposition to government regulation.^[39] Writers such as Upton Sinclair and John Reed attacked Sunday as a tool of big business, and poet Carl Sandburg also crudely accused him of being a money-grubbing charlatan.^[40] Nevertheless, Sunday sided with Progressives on some issues. For example, he denounced child labor^[41] and supported urban reform and women's suffrage.^[42] Sunday condemned capitalists "whose private lives are good, but whose public lives are very bad," as well as those "who would not pick the pockets of one man with the fingers of their hand" but who would "without hesitation pick the pockets of eighty million people with fingers of their monopoly or commercial advantage."^[43] He never lost his sympathy for the poor, and he sincerely tried to bridge the gulf between the races during the nadir of the Jim Crow era,^[44] although on at least two occasions in the mid-1920s Sunday received contributions from the Ku Klux Klan.^[45] The Republican Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States of America, along with the Democratic Party. ... Upton Beall Sinclair Jr. ... John Reeds signature John Jack Silas Reed (October 22, 1887 – October 19, 1920) was an American journalist, poet, and communist activist, famous for his first-hand account of the Bolshevik Revolution, Ten Days that Shook the World. ... Carl Sandburg in 1955 Carl August Sandburg (January 6, 1878 – July 22, 1967) was an American poet, historian, novelist, balladeer, and folklorist. ... In the United States, the Progressive Era was a period of reform which lasted from the 1890s through the 1920s. ... Child laborers coming out of a dye factory, Dhaka, Bangladesh Child labor (or child labour) is the employment of children under an age determined by law or custom. ... The term womens suffrage refers to an economic and political reform movement aimed at extending suffrage — the right to vote — to women. ... Jim Crow can refer to several subjects: James F. Crow, Professor Emeritus of Genetics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. ... Members of the second Ku Klux Klan at a rally during the 1920s. ...

Sunday was a passionate supporter of World War I. In 1918 he said, "I tell you it is [Kaiser] Bill against Woodrow, Germany against America, Hell against Heaven." Sunday raised large amounts of money for the troops, sold war bonds, and stumped for recruitment.^[46]

Sunday had been an ardent champion of temperance from his earliest days as an evangelist, and his ministry at the Chicago YMCA had given him first-hand experience with the destructive potential of alcohol. Sunday's most famous sermon was "Get on the Water Wagon," which he preached on countless occasions with both histrionic emotion and a "mountain of economic and moral evidence." Sunday said, "I am the sworn, eternal and uncompromising enemy of the Liquor Traffic. I have been, and will go on, fighting that damnable, dirty, rotten business with all the power at my command."^[47] Sunday played a significant role in arousing public interest in Prohibition and in the passage of the Eighteenth Amendment in 1919. When the tide of public opinion turned against Prohibition, he continued to support it. After its repeal in 1933, Sunday called for its reintroduction.^[48] A cartoon from Australia ca. ... The term Prohibition, also known as A Dry Law, refers to a law in a certain country by which the manufacture, transportation, import, export, and sale of alcoholic beverages is restricted or illegal. ...

Sunday also opposed eugenics, recent immigration from southern and eastern Europe,^[49] and the teaching of evolution.^[50] Further, he criticized such popular middle-class amusements as dancing^[51], playing cards, attending the theater, and reading novels.^[52] However, he believed baseball was a healthy and even patriotic form of recreation, so long as it was not played on Sundays.^[53] Eugenics is the self-direction of human evolution: Logo from the Second International Congress of Eugenics, 1921, depicting it as a tree which unites a variety of different fields. ... 1785 - James Hutton presented his theory of uniformitarianism, explaining that the Earth must be much older than previously supposed to allow time for mountains to be eroded and for sediment to form new rocks at the bottom of the sea, which in turn were raised up to become dry land. ...

Decline

Sunday's popularity waned after World War I when radio and movie theaters became his competitors for the public's leisure time. The Sundays' health also declined even as they continued to drive themselves through rounds of revivals—smaller of course, but also with ever fewer staff members to assist them.^[54]

Worse, the Sundays were disgraced by the behavior of their three sons who engaged in all the activities Billy preached against. In the end, the Sundays were effectively forced to pay blackmail to several women to keep the scandals relatively quiet.^[55] In 1930, their housekeeper and nanny, who had become a virtual member of the family, died. Then Sunday's daughter, the only child actually raised by Nell, died in 1932 of what seems to have been multiple sclerosis. Rescued from financial ruin by the Sundays, their oldest son George committed suicide in 1933.^[56] For other uses, see Blackmail (disambiguation). ...

Nevertheless, even as the crowds declined during the last fifteen years of his life, Sunday soldiered on, accepting preaching invitations and speaking with effect. In early 1935, he had a mild heart attack, and his doctor advised him to stay out of the pulpit. Sunday ignored the advice. He died on November 6, a week after preaching his last sermon on the text "What must I do to be saved?"^[57] November 6 is the 310th day of the year (311th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

Notes

4-H in the United States is a youth organization in the United States administered by the Department of Agriculture Cooperative Extension System with the mission of empowering youth to reach their full potential, working and learning in partnership with caring adults. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... This article or section may contain original research or unverified claims. ... “The Great War ” redirects here. ... Dwight Lyman Moody, circa 1890s. ... Dr. Bob Jones Jr. ... Bellingham, Washington is the county seat of Whatcom County in the U.S. state of Washington. ... Fulton County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. ... Mary Pickford (April 8, 1893 – May 29, 1979) was an Oscar-winning Canadian motion picture star and co-founder of United Artists in 1919. ... This article needs additional references or sources to facilitate its verification. ... John Jakes (born on March 31, 1932) is a writer of fiction. ... Rodric Pryce-Jones is a guitarist in Idlewild. ... Memphis was the wife of Epaphus, the founder of Memphis, Egypt in Greek mythology. ... Jesus making wine in The Marriage at Cana, a 14th century fresco from the Visoki Dečani monastery. ... The Blind Pig is a famous music venue in Ann Arbor, Michigan. ... Francis Albert Sinatra (December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was a jazz oriented popular singer and Academy Award-winning actor. ... Chicago is a popular song. ... Fred Fisher (September 30, 1875 - January 14, 1942) was a United States songwriter. ... William Jennings Bryan (March 19, 1860 – July 26, 1925) was an American lawyer, statesman, and politician. ... William Jennings Bryan (seated at left) being interrogated by Clarence Seward Darrow, during the trial of State of Tennessee vs. ... Dayton is a city in Rhea County, Tennessee, United States. ... Nickname: Location of the City and County of San Francisco, California Coordinates: Country United States of America State California City-County San Francisco Government  - Mayor Gavin Newsom Area  - City  47 sq mi (122 km²)  - Land  46. ... March 22 is the 81st day of the year (82nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... -1...

References

• Anderson, Daniel LaRoy. "The Gospel According to Sunday," Th.D. dissertation, Dallas Theological Seminary, 1979.
• Bruns, Roger. Preacher: Billy Sunday and Big-Time American Evangelism. New York: W.W. Norton, 1992.
• Dorsett, Lyle W. Billy Sunday and the Redemption of Urban America. Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans, 1991.
• Ellis, William T. Billy Sunday: His Life and Message. Philadelphia, PA: John C. Winston Co., 1914.
• Firstenberger, William A. In Rare Form: A Pictorial History of Baseball Evangelist Billy Sunday. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 2005.
• Frankenberg, Theodore Thomas. Billy Sunday: His Tabernacles and Sawdust Trails. Columbus, Ohio: F.J. Heer Printing Company, 1917.
• Knickerbocker, Wendy. Sunday at the Ballpark: Billy Sunday's Professional Baseball Career 1883-1890. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2000.
• Larson, Edward J. (1997), Summer for the Gods: The Scopes Trial and America's Continuing Debate over Science and Religion, BasicBooks a subsidiary of Perseus Books, ISBN 0-679-64288-9 0-465-07509-6
• Larson, Edward J. (2004), Evolution, Modern Library, ISBN 0-679-64288-9
• Martin, Robert F. Hero of the Heartland: Billy Sunday and the Transformation of American Society, 1862-1935. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2002.
• McLoughlin, William G. Billy Sunday Was His Real Name. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1955.
• Nevada Community Historical Society Inc. (2003). Voices from the Past: The Story of Nevada, Iowa, Its Community and Families. Unknown press (Nevada Community Historical Society, Inc., PO Box 213, Nevada, Iowa 50201-0213; 515-382-6684)
• Rosenberg, Howard W. Cap Anson 4: Bigger Than Babe Ruth: Captain Anson of Chicago. Arlington, Va.: Tile Books, 2006.
• Sunday, Billy. The Sawdust Trail: Billy Sunday in His Own Words. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 2005.

Edward J. Larson (born ?) is an American historian. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Edward J. Larson (born ?) is an American historian. ...

External links

• BillySunday.org
• Selected sermons
• Archives of the Billy Graham Center--huge database of Sunday images and content
• Billy Sunday's grave and Find A Grave Entry
• Audio Sermons by Billy Sunday
• Baseball-Reference.com - Career statistics and analyses
• Billy Sunday Home Museum
• Birthplace of Billy Sunday Includes images and Sunday quotations.