Sunday, Billy (1862–1935)

US Protestant evangelist. His fabulously successful career as an evangelist began in 1896. A flamboyant fundamentalist, his denunciations of science, alcohol, and political liberalism attracted an enormous following, especially in rural areas.

He was born in Ames, Iowa, and grew up in poverty but managed to complete high school. He joined the Chicago White Sox baseball team in 1883. He underwent a religious conversion in 1887, and, after retiring as a player in 1891, went to work for the YMCA in Chicago. Although his influence began to decline after about 1920, he continued preaching to the end of his life.