In Rare Form: A Pictorial History of Baseball Evangelist Billy Sunday

Preface and Acknowledgments

The photograph facing this page is an extraordinary image. Billy Sunday is poised to deliver a dramatic blow to the chin of Satan. Sunday used this pose and other active postures regularly in his promotional materials and sermons to illustrate the spiritual combat all individuals fight against sin. Rare among early prints, this photograph is date stamped. Taken as a publicity photograph in March 1918 by the Chicago Daily News, this image of Sunday would have been displayed in the newspaper as a cutout figure without any background during his Chicago revival. For our purposes, however, the backdrop remains as salient as his figure, for he is standing in the basement of the family home in Winona Lake, Indiana, in front of a mass of personal possessions . In the foreground we see the public persona of Billy Sunday, but in the background we see his “stuff,” the material objects of his past, which, to this date, have still not told their side of the story. Artifacts and images can only tell a story, however, if they are preserved . For this reason alone, this book is dedicated to the memory of Helen A. Sunday, Billy Sunday’s wife, whose singular act in her last will and testament to preserve the Sunday home made possible not only this study but also opened the doors of experiencing the Sunday family story for untold future generations. She made this unselfish gift because thousands of Bible conference attendees enjoyed her personal tour of the family home during the last twenty years of her life; thus she saw the value in keeping the collection intact (fig. 1). She was a woman ahead of her time in numerous ways, and her life and influence upon Sunday are a major focus of this book. To understand the motives of Billy Sunday, one must first comprehend the depth of involvement that Helen Sunday, better known as Nell, brought to the plate. She was his business manager , spiritual counselor, loving mate, and one true friend. Without Nell’s abilities or support, it is difficult to imagine Billy Sunday ascending to anything higher than a regionally successful preacher. With Nell Preface and Acknowledgments at his side, Billy transformed himself into America’s great “Baseball Evangelist.” No work such as this occurs without the assistance and guidance from many individuals. The staff at the University of Iowa Press have been of great assistance to me, as a first-time author. Press director Holly Carver took me under her wing and guided me through difficult decisions. Managing Editor Charlotte Wright tended to numerous details, keeping the project on track. Freelance copyeditor Robert Burch- field helped me hone my thoughts into clear statements. During my graduate education at Indiana University, the thesis of which focused on Billy Sunday and served as a germ of an idea for the approach of this book, I was privileged to be under the counsel of Donald B. Marti as my academic adviser, as well as a thesis committee consisting of Daniel V. Olson, Patrick J. Furlong, and Lester C. Lamon. Their guidance and strong encouragement to publish this work greatly bolstered my efforts. The entire Winona Lake, Indiana, community has likewise been a tremendous source of assistance. I am indebted to Brent Wilcoxson, Preface and Acknowledgments viii figure 1. Nell “Ma” Sunday, seen here in the Sundays’ dining room circa 1945, was the first and best tour guide of the Sunday family home. Image courtesy of the William and Helen Sunday Archives, Grace College, Winona Lake, Indiana. managing director of the Village at Winona, and Indiana State Museum officials Dale Ogden and Rachel Perry for my appointment as consultant curator to the Billy Sunday Historic Site Museum. These individuals gave me the opportunity to develop this new museum, and without their initial confidence in my ability and continued support over the years, this work would not have been possible. The staff at Morgan Library of Grace College, specifically Director of Library Services William Darr and Associate Director for Public Services Rhoda Palmer, were invaluable to my efforts, as they gave me access to and assistance with the William and Helen Sunday Papers Collection. Steve Grill, director of the Reneker Museum of Winona History, also deserves credit for imparting his unique insights on Billy Sunday’s role within the Winona Lake community and opening to me the collections under his...