Get on the Water Wagon
Rev. William Ashley "Billy" Sunday was born on November 19, 1862 to William Sunday (1828-1862) and Mary Jane Corey/Cory (1840-1916) in Ames, IA. He had two older siblings: Albert Monroe Sunday (1858-1900) and Howard Edward Sunday (1861-1938). After the death of his father, his mother remarried James Mattison Heizer (1821-?) and she had two more children, Billy's younger half siblings: Leroy C. Heizer (1866-1944) and Mary Elizabeth Heizer (1868-1871). He married Helen Amelia "Nell" Thompson (1868-1957) on September 5, 1888 in Cook, IL, and had four children: Helen Edith Sunday (1890-1932), George Marquis Sunday (1892-1933), William A. Sunday Jr. (1901-1938), and Paul Thompson Sunday (1907-1944). Billy grew up playing baseball and in 1883 he was signed to the Chicago White Stockings a National League team. He played in the major leagues for eight years, and was an average hitter and a good fielder known for his base-running. He converted to Evangelical Christianity in either 1886 or 1887, and became heavily involved in the Temperance movement. He became well-known for his sermons and played a significant role in getting prohibition passed in 1918. Sunday's popularity waned after WWI, and even though scandal never touched him, his sons often engaged in the behavior he so often preached against. In order to keep that quiet, Sunday often paid blackmailers. In early 1935 he had a mild heart attack, and after refusing to follow his doctor's order to take it easy, he died on November 6, 1935, a week after preaching his last sermon, entitled "What Must I Do to Be Saved?"
Fort Wayne, IN: E. A. K. Hackett, 1914. A printed copy of the sermon, "Get on the Water Wagon" by Rev. William Ashley Sunday (1862-1935). Perhaps better known as Billy Sunday, he was an American baseball player, who played as an outfielder in the National League, who later became one of the most celebrated American Evangelists of the late 20th century. "Get on the Water Wagon" was Sunday's most famous sermon, and as such he preached it on countless occasions. The sermon was about temperance, a movement of which Sunday was a most ardent champion of. "Listen! Seventy-five per cent of our idiots come from intemperate parents; eight per cent of the paupers; eighty-two per cent of the crime is committed by men under the influence of liquor; ninety per cent of the adult criminals are whisky made... The saloon is the sum of all villainies. It is worse than war or pestilence. It is the crime of crimes. It is the parent of crimes and the mother of sins." Within is a single printed halftone black and white image of man, with the caption "I'll Fight Till Hell Freezes Over". Front cover has a printed halftone black and white photograph of a portrait of the Reverend. 32 pgs. Printed wrappers. Staple binding. OCLC 0 (March 2021, there are other editions). Measures 8 3/4" x 5 3/4" General wear and toning due to age. Covers partially detached. Burn mark by upper staple binding.Price: $175.00
Item #21000271