William A. Sunday was born November 19, 1862, in a two-room log cabin near Ames, Iowa.  His father was in the Union army then, where he soon died of pneumonia so Billy never knew his father.

The evangelist died November 6, 1935, at the age of 72.  His funeral was held in Moody Church, Chicago, with the sermon by H. A. Ironside, pastor.

Sunday held some three hundred crusades in thirty-nine years.  It is estimated that a hundred million heard him speak in great tabernacles before public address systems were invented.  And more than a million people made a profession of faith in Christ as Saviour under his preaching.

He was probably the most spectacular evangelist since John the Baptist.  His long-time associate, Dr. Homer Rodeheaver, called him “the greatest gospel preacher since the Apostle Paul.”

Billy was outfielder on the Chicago White Stockings baseball team when he was converted.  One night, with baseball cronies, he heard a group singing on the streets of Chicago, “Where is My Wandering Boy Tonight?”—his mother’s favorite song. He went to Pacific Garden Mission and was converted.