Billy Sunday, born near Ames, Iowa on November 9, 1862, and later grew up in an orphanage. His athletic ability led him to baseball where he went straight from semi-professional in Marshalltown, Iowa to the majors in Chicago. He played for Cap Anson and the White Stockings running the bases in less than 14 seconds - a phenomenon of his day. But the call of the Lord was stronger than the roar of the crowd. Sunday left a $400 per month career for the $83.33 a month he could earn working for the Chicago's YMCA religious instruction staff. In 1896 he began preaching across the Midwest.

By 1915, he was holding revivals for tens of thousands of people per week in cities such as Philadelphia, Baltimore and New York.

During Billy Sunday's lifetime, he identified drinking as a sin and a social evil that needed to be outlawed. He was instrumental in the enactment of the Prohibition Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1919.

He preached with a blend of humor and dramatics that enthralled his audiences, numbering nearly one million.

He died on November 6, 1935 and is buried in Chicago.

The Billy Sunday Society exists to:

• Support the Billy Sunday Home & Visitors Center, Winona Lake, Indiana in cooperation with the Director.

• Unite together in promote the values & teachings of the Sundays.

• Notify members about activities at the Billy Sunday Home as well as updates, etc. on the Sundays.

• Develop and distribute brochures, pamphlets and educational materials on Billy & “Ma” Sunday.

• Actively research and document information on the life & ministry of the Sundays.

• Hold Yearly meeting on “Billy Sunday Day” to support event and review activities, etc.

"The Baseball Evangelist" is more than a preacher of the Gospel to Americans of the twentieth century. He is a legend, embodying in himself the spirit of mass evangelism. The man who galvanized religion into an active force against social evils, preaching a strange mixture of humor and hellfire that made his listeners take notice. This was Billy Sunday.

Billy and Ma Sunday

Links Of Interest On Billy Sunday