William Ashley "Billy" Sunday (November 19, 1862 – November 6, 1935) was an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
athlete who, after being a popular
outfielderOutfielder is a generic term applied to each of the people playing in the three defensive positions in baseball farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder...
in baseball's
National LeagueThe National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league...
during the 1880s, became the most celebrated and influential American
evangelistEvangelism is the practice of attempting to convert people to a religion. The term is used most often in reference to Christianity's religions, since they mandate that their followers make efforts to recruit as many people as possible into their faith...
during the first two decades of the 20th century.
Born into poverty in
IowaIowa is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland." It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of...
, Sunday spent some years in an
orphanageOrphanage is the name to describe a residential institution devoted to the care of orphans – children whose parents are deceased or otherwise unable to care for them...
before working at odd jobs and playing for local running and baseball teams. His speed and agility provided him the opportunity to play baseball in the
major leaguesMajor League Baseball is the highest level of play in North American professional baseball. Specifically, Major League Baseball refers to the organization that operates the National League and the American League, by means of a joint organizational structure that has developed gradually between...
for eight years, where he was an average hitter and a good fielder known for his base-running.
Converted to
evangelicalEvangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s.Most adherents consider its key characteristics to be: a belief in the need for personal conversion ; some expression of the gospel in effort; a high regard for biblical authority; and an emphasis on the...
ChristianityChristianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented by the revelations in the New Testament....
in the 1880s, Sunday left baseball for the Christian ministry. He gradually developed his skills as a pulpit evangelist in the
MidwestThe Midwestern United States is one of the four geographic regions within the United States of America that are officially recognized by the United States Census Bureau....
and then, during the early 20th century, he became the nation's most famous evangelist with his colloquial
sermonA sermon is an oration by a prophet or member of the clergy. Sermons address a Biblical, theological, religious, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law or behavior within both past and present contexts...
s and frenetic delivery. Sunday held widely reported campaigns in America's largest cities, and he attracted the largest crowds of any evangelist before the advent of electronic sound systems. He also made a great deal of money and was welcomed into the homes of the wealthy and influential. Sunday was a strong supporter of
ProhibitionIn the history of the United States, Prohibition, also known as The Noble Experiment, is the period from 1919 to 1933, during which the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol for consumption were banned nationally as mandated in the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States...
, and his preaching almost certainly played a significant role in the adoption of the
Eighteenth AmendmentAmendment XVIII of the United States Constitution, along with the Volstead Act , established Prohibition in the United States. Its ratification was certified on January 16, 1919...
in 1919.
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. His audiences grew smaller during the 1920s as Sunday grew older, religious revivals became less popular, and alternate sources of entertainment appeared. Nevertheless, Sunday continued to preach and remained a stalwart defender of
conservative ChristianityConservative Christianity is a term applied to a number of groups or movements seen as giving priority to traditional Christian beliefs and practices...
until his death.
Early life
Billy Sunday was born near
Ames, IowaAmes is a city located in the central part of the U.S. state of Iowa in Story County, and approximately north of Des Moines. It is the principal city of the Ames, Iowa...
. His father, William Sunday, was a
UnionThe Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
soldier during the
Civil WarThe American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several other names, was a civil war in the United States of America. Eleven Southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America...
who had enlisted in the Iowa Twenty-Third Volunteer Infantry and died of disease at
Patterson, MissouriPatterson is an unincorporated community in Wayne County, Missouri, United States. It is located about seven miles east of Piedmont on Route 34....
, 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, IowaGlenwood is a city in Mills County, Iowa, United States. The population was 5,358 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Mills County.-History:...
. At the orphanage, Sunday gained orderly habits, a decent primary education, and the realization that he was a good athlete.
By fourteen, Sunday was shifting for himself. In
Nevada, IowaNevada is a city in and the county seat of Story County, Iowa, United States. The population was 6,658 at the 2000 census. It is also part of the 'Ames, Iowa Metropolitan Statistical Area', which is a part of the larger 'Ames-Boone, Iowa Combined Statistical Area'...
, he worked for Colonel John Scott, a former lieutenant governor, tending
Shetland poniesThe Shetland pony is a breed of pony originating in the Shetland Isles. Shetlands range in size from a minimum height of approximately 28 inches to an official maximum height of 42 inches at the withers. Shetland ponies have heavy coats, short legs and are considered quite intelligent...
and doing other farm chores. The Scotts provided Sunday a good home and the opportunity to attend Nevada High School. Although Sunday never received a high school diploma, by 1880 he was better educated than many of his contemporaries.
In 1880, Sunday relocated to
Marshalltown, IowaMarshalltown is a city in Marshall County, Iowa, United States. It is the county seat of Marshall County and the home of Marshalltown Community College. The population was 26,009 at the 2000 census.-History:...
, 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 fieldA left fielder , is an outfielder in the sport of baseball who plays defense in left field. Left field is the area of the outfield to the left of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound...
, the Marshalltown team defeated the state champion
Des MoinesDes Moines is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small portion of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines which was shortened to "Des Moines" in 1857...
team 13-4.
Professional baseball player
Sunday's professional baseball career was launched by
Adrian "Cap" AnsonAdrian Constantine Anson , known by the nicknames "Cap" and "Pop", was a professional baseball player in the National Association and Major League Baseball...
, 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. SpaldingAlbert Goodwill Spalding was a professional baseball player, manager and co-founder of A.G. Spalding sporting goods company....
, president of the
Chicago White StockingsThe Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago , the Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the...
, signed Sunday to the defending National League champions.
Sunday
struck outIn baseball or softball, a strikeout or strike out occurs when a batter receives three strikes during his time at bat. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters. Pitchers with a greater number of strikeouts are often praised, while batters with a greater number of...
four times in his first game, and there were seven more strikeouts and three more games before he got a
hitIn baseball statistics, a hit , also called a base hit, is credited to a batter when the batter safely reaches first base after hitting the ball into fair territory, without the benefit of an error or a fielder's choice....
. During his first four seasons with Chicago, he was a part-time player, taking
Mike "King" Kelly'sMichael Joseph "King" Kelly was an American right fielder, catcher, and manager in various professional American baseball leagues including the National League, International Association, Players' League, and the American Association. He spent the majority of his 16-season playing career with the...
place in
right fieldA right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound...
when Kelly served as
catcherCatcher is a position for a baseball or softball player. When a batter takes his turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. This is a catcher's primary duty, but he is also called upon to master many other skills in order...
.
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 LathamWalter Arlington Latham was an American third baseman in Major League Baseball from -. He died in Garden City, New York, at the age of 92.-Personality:...
, the fastest runner in the
American AssociationThis article refers to the former Baseball major league that existed from 1882 to 1891. For other leagues with a similar name see: American Association....
. Sunday won the hundred-yard dash by about ten feet.
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 duties as handling the ticket receipts and paying the team's travel expenses.
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 AlleghenysThe Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in the Central Division of the National League, and are five-time World Series Champions, in addition to the distinction of playing in the first modern World Series. The Pirates are also often...
for the 1888 season. He was their starting
center fielderA 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...
, 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." Although Pittsburgh had a losing team during the 1888 and 1889 seasons, Sunday performed well in center field and was among the league leaders in
stolen baseIn baseball, a stolen base occurs when a baserunner successfully advances to the next base while the pitcher is delivering the ball to home plate. In baseball statistics, stolen bases are denoted by SB...
s.
In 1890, a labor dispute led to the formation of a
new leagueThe Players' National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs, popularly known as the Players' League , was a short-lived but star-studded professional American baseball league of the 19th century...
, 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 PhilliesThe Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and are the defending World Series champions. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern...
for two players and $1,000 in cash.
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 well in his thirty-one games with Philadelphia, the team finished in third place.
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 averageBatting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball measuring the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters, respectively. The two statistics are related, in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages....
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 thrilling catches featuring long sprints and athletic dives, but he also committed a great many
errorsIn baseball statistics, 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.The term...
. Sunday was best known as an exciting base-runner, regarded by his peers as one of the fastest in the game, even though he never placed better than third in the National League in stolen bases.
Sunday remained a prominent baseball fan throughout his life. He gave interviews and opinions about baseball to the popular press; he frequently
umpiredIn 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 handling the disciplinary actions. The term is often shortened to the colloquial form ump...
minor league and amateur games in the cities where he held revivals; and he attended baseball games whenever he could, including a
1935 World SeriesThe 1935 World Series featured the Detroit Tigers and the Chicago Cubs, with the Tigers winning in six games for their first championship in five Series appearances. They had lost in 1907, 1908, 1909, and 1934....
game two months before he died.
Conversion
On a Sunday afternoon in Chicago during either the 1886 or 1887 baseball season, Sunday and several of his teammates were out on the town for their day off. At one street corner they stopped to listen to a gospel preaching team from the
Pacific Garden MissionPacific Garden Mission is a homeless shelter in the South Loop section of Chicago, Illinois, founded in 1877, by Colonel George Clarke and his wife Sarah. It has been nicknamed, "The Old Lighthouse." It is the oldest such shelter in Chicago...
. Attracted by the hymns he had heard his mother sing, Sunday began attending services at the mission. A former society matron who worked there convinced Sunday, after some struggle, that he should become a
ChristianA Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic, religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, who Christians believe was the Messiah prophesied in the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible, and the Son of God.The term "Christian" is also used adjectivally to...
. He began attending the fashionable Jefferson Park
PresbyterianPresbyterianism is the religion of a number of different Christian churches adhering to the Calvinist theological tradition within Protestantism, and organized according to a characteristic Presbyterian polity...
Church, a congregation handy to both the ball park and his rented room.
Although he socialized with his teammates and sometimes gambled, Sunday was not a heavy drinker. In his autobiography, he said, "I never drank much. I was never drunk but four times in my life. ... I used to go to the saloons with the baseball players, and while they would drink highballs and gin fizzes and beer, I would take lemonade." Following his
conversionReligious conversion is the adoption of new religious beliefs that differ from the convert's previous beliefs. It involves a new religious identity, or a change from one religious identity to another. Conversion requires internalization of the new belief system...
, Sunday denounced drinking, swearing, and gambling, and his changed behavior was recognized by both teammates and fans. Sunday shortly thereafter began speaking in churches and at
YMCAThe Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide movement of more than 45 million members from 124 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs....
s.
Marriage
In 1886, Sunday was introduced at Jefferson Park Presbyterian Church to
Helen Amelia "Nell" ThompsonHelen Amelia Thompson Sunday 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.- Early life and marriage :Helen Sunday, often called “Nell” or “Ma”...
, 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. Furthermore, Nell 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 and eventually married her. On several occasions, Sunday said, "She was a Presbyterian, so I am a Presbyterian. Had she been a
CatholicThe Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church. With more than a billion members, over half of all Christians and more than one-sixth of the world's population, the Catholic Church is a communion of the Western, or Latin Rite Church, and...
, 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.
Apprenticeship for evangelism
In the spring of 1891, Sunday turned down a baseball contract for $3,000 a year 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.
In 1893, Sunday became the full-time assistant to
J. Wilbur ChapmanJohn Wilbur Chapman was a Presbyterian evangelist in the late 19th Century, generally traveling with gospel singer Charles Alexander. His parents were Alexander H. and Lorinda Chapman.-Faith & Education:Chapman grew up attending Quaker Day School and Methodist Sunday School...
, 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.
By listening to Chapman preach night after night, Sunday received a valuable course in
homileticsHomiletics , in theology the application of the general principles of rhetoric to the specific department of public preaching. The one who practices or studies homiletics is called a homilist....
. 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."
Kerosene Circuit
When Chapman unexpectedly returned to the pastorate in 1896, Sunday struck out on his own, beginning with meetings in tiny
Garner, IowaGarner is a city in Hancock County, Iowa, United States. The population was 2,922 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Hancock County.-Geography:Garner is located at ....
. 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.
Sunday also took advantage of his reputation as a baseball player to generate advertising for his meetings. In 1907 in
Fairfield, IowaFairfield is a city in Jefferson County, Iowa, United States. The population was 9,509 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Jefferson County.-Geography:...
, 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.
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.
In 1906, an October snowstorm in
Salida, ColoradoThe City of Salida is a Statutory City that is the county seat and most populous city of Chaffee County, Colorado, United States. The population was 5,504 at the U.S. Census 2000.The town's name is in English and in Spanish....
, destroyed Sunday's tent—a special disaster because
revivalistsChristian revival is a term that generally refers to a specific period of increased spiritual interest or renewal in the life of a church congregation or many churches, either regionally or globally...
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 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.
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. For her part, Nell 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 could manage the revival campaigns.
Nell Sunday transformed her husband's out-of-the-back-pocket organization into a "nationally renowned phenomenon." New personnel were hired, and by the
New YorkNew York is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous. The state is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
campaign of 1917, the Sundays had a paid staff of twenty-six. There were musicians, custodians, and advance men; 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 RodeheaverHomer Alvan Rodeheaver was an American evangelist, music director, music publisher, composer of gospel songs, and pioneer in the recording of sacred music.-Early career:...
, an exceptional song leader and music director who worked with the Sundays for almost twenty years, and
Virginia Healey AsherVirginia Healey Asher was a gospel singer and evangelist to women.Virginia Healey was born in Chicago to Irish Catholic parents, who however, did not seem to mind their daughter attending services at Moody Church, then pastored by R. A. Torrey, an associate of evangelist Dwight L. Moody...
, who (besides regularly singing duets with Rodeheaver) directed the women's ministries, especially the evangelization of young working 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. In messages attacking sexual sin to groups of men only, Sunday could be graphic for the era. 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.
In 1907, journalist Lindsay Denison complained that Sunday preached “the old, old doctrine of damnation,” getting results by "inspiring fear and gloom in the hearts of sinners.” But Sunday himself told reporters "with ill-concealed annoyance", that his revivals had "no emotionalism." Certainly contemporary comparisons to the extravagances of mid-nineteenth-century camp meetings — as in the famous drawing by
George BellowsGeorge Wesley Bellows was an American painter, known for his bold depictions of urban life in New York City, becoming, according to the Columbus Museum of Art, "the most acclaimed American artist of his generation".-Youth:Bellows was born in Columbus, Ohio. He attended The Ohio State University...
— were overdrawn. Sunday told one reporter that he believed that people could "be converted without any fuss," and, at Sunday's meetings, "instances of spasm, shakes, or fainting fits caused by hysteria were few and far between."
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.”
By 1910, Sunday began to conduct meetings (usually longer than a month) in small cities like
YoungstownYoungstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Mahoning County, whose urban area borders Trumbull County. The municipality is situated on the Mahoning River, approximately southeast of Cleveland and northwest of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...
,
Wilkes-BarreWilkes-Barre is a city in Northeastern Pennsylvania, United States. It is the county seat of Luzerne County and the central city of the Wyoming Valley. Founded in 1769 and formally incorporated in 1806, the city has an estimated population of 43,123, according to the 2000 census...
,
South BendSouth Bend is a city in and the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States, on the St. Joseph River. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total of 107,789 residents; its Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 316,663...
, and
DenverThe City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the state of Colorado, in the United States. Denver is a consolidated city-county located in the South Platte River Valley on the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
, and then finally, between 1915 and 1917, the major cities of
PhiladelphiaPhiladelphia is the largest city in Pennsylvania and the sixth-most-populous city in the United States.In 2008, the population of the city proper was estimated to be over 1.4 million, while the metropolitan area's population of 5.8 million made it the country's fifth-largest...
,
SyracuseSyracuse is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States, and the fifth most populous city in the state. At the 2000 census, the city population was 147,306, and its metropolitan area had a population of 732,117. It is the economic and educational hub of Central New...
,
Kansas CityKansas City is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties. It is one of two county seats of Jackson County, the other being Independence, just to the city's east...
,
DetroitDetroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Wayne County. Detroit is a major port city on the Detroit River, in the Midwest region of the United States. Located north of Windsor, Ontario, Detroit is the only major U.S. city that looks south to Canada. It was founded...
, Boston,
BuffaloBuffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, second only to New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River, Buffalo is the principal city of the Buffalo-Niagara Falls metropolitan area and the seat of Erie...
, and
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
. 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.
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. Vast numbers "hit the sawdust trail." 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. Sunday did not preach to a hundred million different individuals but to many of the same people repeatedly over 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 CarolinaColumbia is the state capital and largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 116,278 according to the 2000 census . Columbia is the county seat of Richland County, but a portion of the city extends into Lexington County. The city is the center of a metro area of 728,063...
, campaign—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 en masse at Sunday's prodding. By 1927, Rodeheaver was complaining that Sunday's invitations had become so general that they were meaningless.
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, OhioColumbus is the capital and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. It is the county seat of Franklin County, although parts of the city also extend into Delaware and Fairfield counties...
, 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,
BaltimoreBaltimore is an independent city and the largest city in the state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore City in order to distinguish it from surrounding...
, Boston, and New York City gave Sunday even larger 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.
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 RooseveltTheodore Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States. He is well remembered for his energetic persona, his range of interests and achievements, his model of masculinity, and his "cowboy" image. He was a leader of the Republican Party and founder of the short-lived Bull Moose Party...
and
Woodrow WilsonThomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States. A leading intellectual of the Progressive Era, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
, and counted both
Herbert HooverHerbert Clark Hoover was the 31st President of the United States . Hoover was a professional mining engineer and author. As the United States Secretary of Commerce in the 1920s under Presidents Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge, he promoted government intervention under the rubric "economic...
and
John D. Rockefeller, Jr.John Davison Rockefeller, Jr. was a major philanthropist and a pivotal member of the prominent Rockefeller family. He was the sole son among the five children of the billionaire Standard Oil industrialist, John D. Rockefeller and the father of the five famous Rockefeller brothers...
as friends. During and after the 1917
Los AngelesLos Angeles is the largest city in the state of California and the second largest in the United States. Often abbreviated as L.A. and nicknamed The City of Angels, Los Angeles has an estimated population of 3.8 million and spans over in Southern California...
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 FairbanksDouglas Elton Thomas Ullman Fairbanks, Sr., was an American actor, screenwriter, director and producer, best known for his swashbuckling roles in silent films such as The Thief of Bagdad, Robin Hood, and The Mark of Zorro. An astute businessman, Fairbanks was a founding member of United Artists...
.
The Sundays enjoyed dressing well and dressing their children well; the family sported expensive but tasteful coats, boots, and jewelry. Nell Sunday also bought land as an investment. A fruit orchard farm and rustic cabin at
Hood River, OregonThe city of Hood River is the seat of Hood River County, Oregon, United States. It is a port on the Columbia River, and is named for the nearby Hood River. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 5,831...
, caught the attention of reporters, who called it a "ranch." Sunday was a soft touch with money and gave away much of his earnings. Neither of the Sundays were extravagant spenders. Although Sunday enjoyed driving, the couple never owned a car. Their
American CraftsmanThe American Craftsman Style, or the American Arts and Crafts Movement, is an American domestic architectural, interior design, and decorative arts style popular from the last years of the 19th century through the early years of the 20th century...
-style bungalow at
Winona Lake, IndianaWinona Lake is a town in Wayne Township, Kosciusko County, Indiana, United States. The population was 3,987 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Winona Lake is located at...
, where the Sundays had moved their legal residence in 1911, was furnished in the popular
Arts and CraftsThe Arts and Crafts Movement was a British, Canadian, Australian, and American aesthetic movement occurring in the last years of the 19th century and the early years of the 20th century...
style and had two porches and a terraced garden, but the house had only nine rooms, of living space, and no garage.
Religious views
Billy Sunday was a conservative evangelical who accepted
fundamentalistFundamentalist Christianity, also known as Christian fundamentalism or fundamentalist evangelicalism, is a movement that arose mainly within British and American Protestantism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries among conservative evangelical Christians, who, in a reaction to liberal...
doctrines. He affirmed and preached the
inerrancyBiblical inerrancy is the doctrinal position that, in its original form, the Bible is totally without error, and free from all contradiction; "referring to the complete accuracy of Scripture, including the historical and scientific parts."...
of the Bible, the virgin birth of Christ, the doctrine of
substitutionary atonementSubstitutionary atonement is a doctrine in Christian theology which states that Jesus of Nazareth died – intentionally and willingly – on the cross as a propitiation, or substitute, for sinners. This doctrine presents Jesus' death as a supreme act of love for mankind, in order to bring...
, the bodily resurrection of Christ, a literal
devilThe Devil is believed in certain religions and folklore to be a powerful, supernatural entity that is the personification of evil and the enemy of God and humankind. The Devil is commonly associated with heretics, infidels, and other unbelievers...
and
hellIn many religious traditions, Hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife, often in the underworld. Religions with a linear divine history often depict Hell as endless...
, and the
imminent returnIn most Christian theologies, the Second Coming of Christ is the return of Jesus from Heaven to earth, an event expected to fulfill aspects of Biblical Messianic prophecy, such as the general resurrection of the dead, the Last Judgment of the dead and the living and the full establishment of the...
of Jesus Christ. At the turn of the 20th century, most
ProtestantProtestantism is a branch within Christianity, containing many denominations with some differing practices and doctrines, that principally originated in the sixteenth-century Protestant Reformation. It is considered to be one of the major divisions within Christianity, together with the Roman...
church members, regardless of denomination, gave assent to these doctrines. Sunday refused to hold meetings in cities where he was not welcomed by the vast majority of the Protestant churches and their clergy.
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 GibbonsJames Gibbons was an American Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Richmond from 1872 to 1877, and as Archbishop of Baltimore from 1877 until his death in 1921...
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
UnitarianUnitarianism as a theology is the belief in the single personality of God, in contrast to the doctrine of the Trinity ....
.
Although Sunday was ordained by the Presbyterian Church in 1903, his ministry was nondenominational, and he was not a strict
CalvinistCalvinism is a theological system and an approach to the Christian life...
. He preached that individuals were, at least in part, responsible for their own
salvationIn religion, salvation is the concept that God or other Higher Power, as part of Divine Providence, "saves" humanity from spiritual death or eternal damnation by providing for them an eternal life...
. "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.”
Sunday never attended seminary and made no pretense of being a theologian or 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. In fact, he was later charged, probably correctly, with
plagiarizingPlagiarism, as defined in the 1995 Random House Compact Unabridged Dictionary, is the "use or close imitation of the language and thoughts of another author and the representation of them as one's own original work." Within academia, plagiarism by students, professors, or researchers is considered...
a
Decoration DayMemorial Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May . Formerly known as Decoration Day, it commemorates U.S. men and women who died while in the military service...
speech given by the noted agnostic
Robert IngersollColonel Robert Green Ingersoll was a Civil War veteran, American political leader, and orator during the Golden Age of Freethought, noted for his broad range of culture and his defense of agnosticism.-Biography:...
.
Sunday's homespun preaching had a wide appeal to his audiences, who were "entertained, reproached, exhorted, and astonished." Sunday claimed to be "an old-fashioned preacher of the old-time religion," and his uncomplicated sermons spoke of a personal God, salvation through Jesus Christ, and following the moral lessons of the Bible. Sunday's theology, although sometimes denigrated as simplistic, was situated within mainstream Protestantism of his time.
Social and political views
Sunday was a lifelong
RepublicanThe Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the Grand Old Party or the GOP, despite being the younger of the two major parties. In the U.S...
, and he espoused the mainstream political and social views of his native Midwest: individualism, competitiveness, personal discipline, and opposition to government regulation. Writers such as
Sinclair LewisHarry Sinclair Lewis was an American novelist, short-story writer, and playwright. In 1930, he became the first American to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, "for his vigorous and graphic art of description and his ability to create, with wit and humor, new types of characters." His works...
and John Reed attacked Sunday as a tool of big business, and poet
Carl SandburgCarl Sandburg was an American writer and editor, best known for his poetry. He won three Pulitzer Prizes, two for his poetry and another for a biography of Abraham Lincoln. H. L. Mencken called Carl Sandburg "indubitably an American in every pulse-beat."-Biography:Sandburg was born in Galesburg,...
called him a "four-flusher" and a "bunkshooter." Nevertheless, Sunday sided with
ProgressivesThe Progressive Era in the United States was a period of reform which lasted from the 1890s to the 1920s.Responding to the changes brought about by industrialization,the Progressives advocated a wide range of economic, political, social, and moral reforms....
on some issues. For example, he denounced
child laborChild labour refers to the employment of children at regular and sustained labour. This practice is considered exploitative by many international organizations and is illegal in many countries...
and supported urban reform and
women's suffrageWomen's suffrage is the right of women to vote, and historically includes the economic and political reform movement aimed at extending suffrage to women. The movement's modern origins lie in France in the 18th century. Of currently existing independent countries, New Zealand was the first to give...
. 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." 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, although on at least two occasions in the mid-1920s Sunday received contributions from the
Ku Klux KlanKu Klux Klan , informally known as The Klan, is the name of several past and present hate group organizations in the United States whose avowed purpose was to protect the rights of and further the interests of white Americans by violence and intimidation. The first such organizations originated in...
.
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.
Sunday had been an ardent champion of
temperanceA temperance movement is a social movement against the use of Alcoholic beverages. Temperance movements may criticize excessive alcohol use, promote complete abstinence, or pressure the government to enact anti-alcohol legislation....
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." Sunday played a significant role in arousing public interest in
ProhibitionProhibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is a sumptuary law which prohibits alcohol. Typically, the manufacture, transportation, import, export, and sale of alcoholic beverages is restricted or illegal. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries...
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.
Sunday also opposed
eugenicsEugenics is the study and practice of selective breeding applied to humans, with the aim of improving the species. Widely popular in the early decades of the 20th century, after having become associated with the Holocaust, it has largely fallen into disrepute.- Overview :As a social movement...
, recent immigration from southern and eastern Europe, and
the teaching of evolutionThe creation-evolution controversy has a long history, beginning with challenges made by various naturalists to biblical accounts of creation. In response to theories developed by scientists, some religious individuals and organizations questioned the legitimacy of scientific ideas that call into...
. Further, he criticized such popular middle-class amusements as dancing, playing cards, attending the theater, and reading novels. However, he believed baseball was a healthy and even patriotic form of recreation, so long as it was not played on Sundays.
Decline and death
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 but also with ever fewer staff members to assist them.
Tragedy marred Sunday's final years. His three sons engaged in many of the activities he preached against, and the Sundays paid
blackmailBlackmail is the crime of threatening to reveal substantially true information about a person to the public, a family member, or associates unless a demand made upon the victim is met. This information is usually of an embarrassing and/or socially damaging nature...
to several women to keep the scandals relatively quiet. In 1930, their housekeeper and nanny, who had become a virtual member of the family, died. Then the Sundays' daughter, the only child actually raised by Nell, died in 1932 of what seems to have been
multiple sclerosisMultiple sclerosis is an idiopathic disease of suspected autoimmune cause, in which the body's immune response attacks a person's central nervous system , leading to demyelination. Disease onset usually occurs in young adults, and it is more common in females...
. Their oldest son George, rescued from financial ruin by the Sundays, committed suicide in 1933.
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?"
External links
- Billy Sunday On-line Compiled by the pastor of King's Valley Chapel in Kingfield, Maine, this website contains Sunday sermons, images, audio, a biographical timeline, and an online bookstore.
- Billy Sunday Home & Visitors Center The Sunday family home, known as “Mount Hood", is located in Winona Lake, Indiana. Down the hill from the home is the Sunday Visitors' Center, built to resemble the Winona Lake Sunday tabernacle. Winona Lake annually holds a Billy Sunday festival on the first Saturday of August.
- Birthplace of Billy Sunday The Ames (Iowa) Historical Society has compiled a biography of Sunday with pictures, including one of a Sunday plaque designating his birthplace.
- Morgan Library — Grace College holds the complete Sunday papers, and a near exhaustive collection of Sunday print materials including biographies, collected sermons, published campaign pieces, and over twenty five Sunday dissertations and theses.
- The Archives of the Billy Graham Center has a large collection of Sunday images and content, including part of the Sunday papers on microfilm (Collection 61), Sunday ephemera (Collection 29), and campaign music (Collection 41).
- Selected Sermons
- Billy Sunday's grave and Find a Grave Entry