Sunday, Billy, 1862-1935

William Ashley Sunday (November 19, 1862 – November 6, 1935) was an American evangelist and professional baseball outfielder. He played for eight seasons in the National League before becoming the most influential American preacher during the first two decades of the 20th century. Born into poverty near Ames, Iowa, Sunday spent some years at the Iowa Soldiers' Orphans' Home 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 leagues for eight years. Converting to evangelical Christianity in the 1880s, Sunday left baseball for the Christian ministry. During the early 20th century, he became the nation's most famous evangelist with his colloquial sermons 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. Sunday was a strong supporter of Prohibition, and his preaching likely played a significant role in the adoption of the Eighteenth Amendment in 1919. Though his audiences grew smaller during the 1920s, Sunday continued to preach and promote conservative Christianity until his death.