Evangelist.
Born November 19, 1862, Ames, Iowa; died November 6, 1935, Chicago, Illinois.
Buried in Forest Park.

In the 1880s, Billy Sunday was a professional baseball player with the Chicago White Stockings, later known as the Cubs. A fast runner, he stole ninety-five bases in one season, and played for eight years. But in 1886, Sunday underwent a religious conversion outside the Pacific Garden Mission in Chicago, and went to work for the YMCA. He was ordained a minister in the Presbyterian Church in 1903.

As a famed evangelist, he brought a revivalist religious message to working class people. He preached against scientists, radicals, and liberals, and challenged participants in his tent revivals to "walk the sawdust trail" for Jesus Christ. Entertaining and controversial, Sunday attracted thousands to his revival meetings. It is estimated that he converted over 300,000 souls.

Sinclair Lewis' book, Elmer Gantry, is based on his life. Billy Sunday was also immortalized in the song "Chicago," described as the town he could not shut down. His popularity waned in the 1920s, and he came to be seen as a symbol of beliefs and values of small-town nineteenth-century America.

The tombstone inscription bears a Bible verse from 2 Timothy:

I have fought a good fight. I have finished my course. I have kept the faith.

Numerous sources used in the compilation of these entries include but not limited to:

• From "Nature's Choicest Spot" ... a Guide to Forest Home and Germany Waldheim Cemeteries prepared by The Historical Society of Oak Park and River Forest.

• Graveyards of Chicago by Matt Hucke and Ursula Bielski -- a book which describes many of the Chicago area cemeteries.

Last Modified:  11/09/2002