BILLY SUNDAY
BILLY SUNDAY
1862-1935
Baseball player, Religious fanatic, anti-alcohol
Billy Sunday was born into poverty in Iowa, US, his family later moved to Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. His father was enlisted in 1862 and died 4 months later at an army camp from pneumonia. Mother and children moved in with their grandmother, and when he was 10, his poverty stricken mother sent him and his brother to an Orphanage, where he gained an education and enjoyed sport. He moved to Marshalltown, working odd jobs and started playing for his local baseball team. He then played as an outfielder in baseball for the major league for 8 years. In 1886 he met Amelia ‘Nell’ Thompson, they were both smitten and married in 1888.
Sunday is best known for being an influential evangelist who left his baseball career for the Christian ministry. He attracted large crowds with his sermons and was known to run from one end of the stage preaching. Sunday admitted that people could ‘be converted without any fuss’.
Sunday was never a heavy drinker and became fanatical against alcohol and was a strong supporter of Prohibition, which helped win passage of the prohibition in 1919. He was also against swearing and gambling. He was against child labour, supported women’s suffrage and tried to build the bridge between races (which the Ku Klux Klan weren’t too happy about). He supported America participating in World War I and raised money for the troops. He opposed the teaching of evolution and criticized dancing, attending the theatre and reading novels. He was okay with people playing baseball as he believed it was healthy, as long as they didn’t play it on Sundays.
Sunday was extremely wealthy and was welcomed into the social elite. He dined with President Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson as well as with Hollywood stars. He and his family dressed well in expensive clothing and jewellery. Even though he was wealthy, he gave most of it away and wasn’t an extravagant spender.
At the end of his life, Sunday wasn’t as popular, his health declined and the couple had less staff to help them with the sermons. He suffered from a mild heart attack and continued working against doctor’s advice. Sunday died a week after preaching his last sermon, aged 72.
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