Succumbs of Heart Attack During
Visit
Evangelist Stricken in Home of Brother-in-Law, William J.
Thompson
Death Mourned Here
The
Rev. William A. (Billy) Sunday, world famed evangelist who deserted a
professional baseball career to "save sinners for the Lord," for many years a
resident of Winona Lake here, died Wednesday night [Nov. 6, 1935] in the home of
his brother-in-law, William J. Thompson, a Chicago florist.
Sunday had
suffered a stroke of angina pectoris at 2:00 o'clock Tuesday morning. However, he
apparently had recovered and was feeling active throughout the day, Mrs. Sunday
said.
At 8:00 o'clock last night, after eating dinner and sitting for
awhile with Mrs. Sunday and Mr. and Mrs. Thompson, he went upstairs to rest,
according to the widow. He had been upstairs only a short time when those in the
lower room heard a sharp cry.
They found him suffering intensely and
summoned a physician, but the noted evangelist died before medical aid arrived.
The evangelist passed away at about 9:15 o'clock. The Sundays had been visiting
with the Thompsons for several days. Rev. Sunday left his residence at Winona
Lake for Chicago only four days ago, after a short rest period, at which time he
remained in more-or-less solitude and greeting an occasional
acquaintance.
Only a few hours prior to his departure he was active as
ever in the affairs of Winona Lake, discussing at length with James Heaton,
general assembly manager, prospects for next year's programs.
Only two
weeks ago Sunday insisted that he preach funeral services for Robert Hunter,
Winona Lake mail carrier and long-time friend of the
evangelist.
Birthday This
Month
Sunday, who would have been seventy-two
years old Nov. 19, had been in poor health for several years. He was stricken
with a heart attack in Chattanooga, Tenn., May 15, 1935, but said at the time
that "I will have a third strike left."
He was not able to be as active
in recent years as was his custom because of poor health and he found it
necessary to take long vacations between periods. But he always managed to find
strength to come back for one more fight with the devil.
His pugnacious,
acrobatic platform style, his colloquial, forceful delivery had been seen and
heard by more than 80,000,000 persons in the 40 years he besought sinners to hit
the sawdust trail. His delivery and sermons brought criticism from orthodox
church circles, but it was estimated he preached to more people than any other
person in the history of Christianity.
Nearly every adult resident of
Kosciusko county has at one time or another heard the sermons of Billy
Sunday.
He often pulled off his coat and vest during sermons. If he
really warmed up, off came his tie and collar. He would straddle chairs and
strike any grotesque pose which would help him get across a point.
He
explained his pulpit vernacular as follows:
"I may be crude. I use slang. But
I always make myself understood. The average man-the man in the street has only
about 300 words in his vocabulary. He needs the message and I speak his language
so he will understand."
He used to his baseball career to increase his
popular appeal, and drew upon the slang of the game for many of the phrases he
used so tellingly in his sermons.
Baseball Career
His stamina and
determination which carried him through his many strenuous years on the platform
came from the major league baseball fields. He joined the great "Cap" Anson's
Chicago team in 1883 as an outfielder. The club won two championships in the
five years he played with it. He was with Pittsburgh two years and concluded his
baseball career in 1891 after playing with Philadelphia. Sunday, known for his
speed on the diamond, was conceded one of the fastest men in baseball and once
held a record for rounding the bases in the shortest time.
He quit
baseball at the height of his career to accept an $85-a-month job at a Y.M.C.A.
he was converted at the Pacific Garden mission in Chicago.
His first
evangelical work was an assistant to Dr. J. Wilburn Chapman. When Dr. Chapman
secured a pastorate, Billy conducted his first revival in a small Iowa
town.
His style immediately made him famous and his rise was meteoric. He
gathered together a large staff of assistants, singers and ushers and soon was
in demand throughout the country. Huge tabernacles had to be built to hold the
crowds that wanted to see and hear the new evangelist. Often thousands were
turned away from his meetings. Nightly contributions ran into thousands of
dollars.
New expressions and illustrations were frequently in his
sermons, but his text almost always was the same. He preached repeatedly against
"demon rum" and brought converts to the "sawdust trail" with forewarnings of
"hell fire and brimstone." He preached the "old time religion."
"It never
changes," Sunday said. "I read the newspapers. I keep up with what is going on
in the world and I am constantly looking for new expressions and new
illustrations. It's just like putting a new frame around an old picture-the
picture is unchanged."
Sunday was ordained a Presbyterian minister by the
Chicago Presbytery in 1903, but he wouldn't give up
evangelism.
Never Saw
Father
William Ashley Sunday was born Nov. 19,
1863 in Ames, Ia., son of William and Mary Jane (Cory) Sunday. He was educated
in the Nevada, Ia. high school, Northwestern university and Westminster
college.
His father was with the Union army when Billy was born and died
in service without seeing his child. The boy spent most of his early life with a
grandfather at Ames and at the Soldiers' Orphans Home.
Later he went to
work in Marshalltown, Ia., and there began to play baseball. He helped the town
win the Iowa state baseball championship from Des Moines, scoring six runs.
Anson scouted the game and offered Sunday a contract.
He married Helen T.
Thompson, of Chicago, in 1888. He constantly referred to her as "Ma" Sunday.
They had four children of whom George and Paul T. Sunday survive.
Mrs.
Sunday communicated at once with the two sons, both of whom live in Los Angeles.
They advised her they would come to Chicago by plane.
Carefully, but with
obvious pride, Mrs. Sunday recalled that at her husbands last evangelical effort
at Mishawaka, Ind., Oct. 27, he had brought "30 or 40" converts to the alter in
one of his old time revivals.
Donated much to Winona
Billy
Sunday for many years was the largest personal property taxpayer in Kosciusko
County. And for just as many years and at frequent intervals he was a generous
contributor of funds to further the interests of Winona Lake and the assembly.
It is clearly estimated that the philanthropic evangelist had given from $5,000
to $10,000 to the institution yearly.
Frequently Sunday had been known to
make personal platform appearances, the entire proceeds of which were turned
over as a donation to further interests of Winona Institutions.
Not
Surprised at Death
Billy Sunday's friends at Winona Lake, where the
renowned evangelist lived for 30 years, last night expressed sadness but little
surprise at his death.
Victor M. Hatfield, old-time resident of the town
and publisher of tracts for religious organizations which form the backbone of
the little community, said Sunday's health had grown steadily more precarious
since his breakdown last spring.
"But he wouldn't give up," Hatfield
said. "He was just as plucky as he ever was, and when friends asked him to preach
a few short sermons he couldn't refuse. But it wore him out."
Sunday had
lived in a modest to-story bungalow on a small estate which he called "Mt Hood"
after the mountain in Oregon, where he maintained a small farm for summer
residence.
He had lived in Winona Lake for more than 30 years. He built
his permanent residence there after living for ten years in a tiny summer home
where he rested between tours.
After his illness last May, Hatfield
recalled, Sunday had went to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, where he
was told that he would never preach again. "Smashing the Devil"
A Sunday Axiom
"A church member that beats a coal
bill is so low that when he dies he'll have to take a step ladder to get up into
hell." -Opening sermon of campaign South Bend, summer 1913.
A typical drawing of Rev. William A. (Billy) Sunday, world-famous evangelist and resident of Winona Lake for the past 30 years, in a striking pose while in the prime of his career on the "saw dust trail." All of Kosciusko county mourn his death. He was a generous contributor to the Winona Institutions.
Warsaw Daily Times Thursday November 7,
1935