Former professional baseball player-turned urban evangelist. Follow this daily blog that chronicles the life and ministry of revivalist preacher William Ashley "Billy" Sunday (1862-1935)
Billy Sunday worked closely with two key musical assistants: Fred G. Fischer and Charles Butler, both of whom played significant roles in his evangelistic campaigns.
Fred G. Fischer – Choir Leader and Soloist
Fred G. Fischer was among Sunday’s earliest and most trusted collaborators. Serving as both choir leader and soloist, Fischer was instrumental in organizing and directing the musical components of Sunday’s revival meetings. His tenure with Sunday spanned approximately from 1900 to 1910, during which he helped cultivate the energetic and participatory musical atmosphere that became a hallmark of Sunday’s campaigns.
Charles Butler – Soloist
Charles Butler served as a soloist in Billy Sunday’s team, contributing to the musical aspects of the revival meetings. His role involved performing solo pieces that complemented the choir’s performances and supported the overall worship experience. Butler’s involvement with Sunday’s campaigns was notably during the years 1907–1908.
Both Fischer and Butler were integral to the musical dimension of Billy Sunday’s revival meetings, enhancing the emotional and spiritual resonance of the events through their leadership and performances.
You have by this act of coming forward publicly acknowledged your faith in Jesus Christ as your personal Saviour. No one could possibly be more rejoiced that you have done this or be more anxious for you to succeed and get the most joy and service out of the Christian life than I. I therefore ask you to read carefully this little tract. Paste it in your Bible and read it frequently.
What it means to be a Christian
What It Means to Be a Christian.
“A Christian is any man, woman or child who comes to God as a lost sinner, accepts the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour, surrenders to Him as their Lord and Master, confesses Him as such before the world, and strives to please Him in everything day by day.”
Have you come to God realizing that you are a lost sinner?
Have you accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Saviour; that is, do you believe with all your heart that He bore the penalty of your sins (I Peter 2: 24), and that now your sins are forgiven because Jesus died in your stead?
Have you surrendered to Him as your Lord and Master?
That is, are you willing to do His will even when it conflicts with your desire?
Have you confessed Him as your Saviour and Master before the world?
Is it your purpose to strive to please Him in everything day by day?
If you can sincerely answer “YES” to the foregoing questions, then you may know on the authority of God’s Word that you are NOW a child of God (John 1: 12), that you have NOW eternal life (John 3: 36); that is to say, if you have done your part (i.e., accept the Lord Jesus Christ as your Saviour and Master) God has done HIS part and imparted to you His own nature (II Peter 1: 4).
How to Make a Success of the Christian Life
Now that you are a child of God your growth depends upon YOURSELF.
It is impossible for you to become a useful Christian unless you are attending to the things which are absolutely essential to your spiritual growth. To this end the following suggestions will be found to be of vital importance. that ye may grow thereby.” — I Peter 2: 2.
STUDY THE BIBLE. Set aside at least fifteen minutes a day for your Bible Study. Let God talk to you fifteen minutes a day through His Word. Talk to God fifteen minutes a day in prayer. Talk for God fifteen minutes a day.”As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the Word,
The Word of God is food for the soul.
Commit to memory one verse of scripture each day.
Join a Bible Class. (Psalm 119:11
2. PRAY MUCH. Praying is talking to God. Talk to Him about everything: your perplexities, joys, sorrows sins, mistakes, friends, enemies.
“Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God
3. WIN SOMEONE FOR CHRIST. For spiritual growth we need not only food (Bible study) but exercise. Work for Christ. The only work Christ ever set for Christians is to win others.
“Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature” Mark 16:15.
“When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.” Ezek. 3:18.
4. SHUN EVIL COMPANIONS. Avoid bad people, bad books, bad thoughts. (Read the 1st Psalm.)
“Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness, and what communion hath light with darkness—what part hath he that believeth with an infidel—wherefore come out from among them and be ye separate saith the Lord” II Cor. 6:14-17.
Try to win the wicked for God but do not choose them for your companions.
5. JOIN SOME CHURCH. Be faithful in your attendance at the Sabbath and mid-week services.
“Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is;” Heb. 10:25
Co-operate with your pastor. God has appointed the pastor to be a shepherd over the church and you should give him due reverence and seek to co-operate with him in his plans for the welfare of the church
6. GIVE TO THE SUPPORT OF THE LORD’S WORK. Give as the Lord hath prospered you. I Cor. 16:2.
“Give not grudgingly or of necessity, for God loveth a cheerful giver.” II Cor. 9:7
7. DO NOT BECOME DISCOURAGED. Expect temptations, trials, suffering and persecution; The Christian life is warfare.
“Yea and all who will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution” II Tim. 3:12.
The eternal God is thy refuge. We have the promise that all things, even strange and hard unaccountable obstacles work together for our good. Many of God’s brightest saints who are now in glory, have passed through dark trials, the hottest fire, and were blessed and used mightily in the world made better because they had lived in it.
Read often the following passages of Scripture: Romans 8:18; I Corinthians 10:13
Fred R. Seibert played a pivotal role in Billy Sunday’s evangelistic campaigns during the early 20th century. As a member of Sunday’s core team, Seibert was known as the “handy man of the tabernacle,” overseeing the logistical and operational aspects of the revival meetings. His responsibilities included managing the physical setup of the tabernacle, coordinating volunteers, and ensuring the smooth execution of events.
Beyond his logistical duties, Seibert was deeply involved in the spiritual mission of the campaigns. He authored Rescue the Perishing, a guide aimed at assisting new converts in their Christian journey. Published in 1921, this work provided practical advice and biblical teachings to support individuals in their newfound faith.
Seibert’s contributions were integral to the success of Billy Sunday’s revivals, combining organizational acumen with a commitment to spiritual mentorship.
BELOW – Article in The South Bend Tribune. May 1, 1913.
HERE IS STORY OF FRED’S LIFE
If you have heard Billy Sunday, you have also heard him say, “Here, Fred, open some of these ventilators, it’s too hot in here,” or “If you people want song books, you can get them from Fred.”
In fact, Billy started talking about Fred long before South Bend people ever knew there was a Fred. But most of the people who are going to the tabernacle these days, know Fred now.
Fred is a stock sort of a fellow, with raven black hair. His last name is Seibert and his initials might be “A. B.”—always busy—but they are not.
Fred Seibert is official custodian of the big Sunday tabernacle on Vistula avenue and he guards the immense building day and night. If you want to hear an interesting story sometime, just step up to Fred and ask him to tell something of his life history.
But maybe Fred would be backward in speaking to a stranger about the matter, so you can be saved the trouble of approaching Fred by continuing to read this story.
Eighteen years ago, in a little town out in Iowa, there lived a young man who, like many other young men, was wasting his life away on cards and similar vices.
One night the young fellow got up from the gaming table with no money. Some people call it “broke,” while others who are without money, say they are “strapped.”
Well, “broke” or “strapped,” the gambler had no money, and he was disgusted with cards, the world and himself. He left the place and went out in the street. Near the corner he heard music. It was the singing of a church choir, but the fellow did not know that when he entered the building.
He knew it a minute after, however, when an evangelist in the front of the room arose to announce his text for the evening.
The man tried to leave the building, but a usher held him.
“I guess I done passed by my station,” said the gambler, but the usher thought otherwise and told the other so.
That gambler, broken spirited and penniless, was Fred Seibert, the “Fred” to-day of the Billy Sunday party.
And to-day Seibert can look the best man in the world in the eye and say casually:
“My friend, my life has not been in vain for the reason I have had the pleasure of bringing 12,000 people to the altar, and showing them the presumptive military pages to them who accept it.”
And Fred has earned a nation wide reputation as a Bible student and a personal worker. He has committed 1,400 books of scripture to memory and can do a trick with the Bible which is a common enough one with playing cards, but is a decidedly unique one when it comes to the Bible. He also enjoyed the privilege of assisting to escort his mother and six brothers and three sisters to the altar.
Pick up the Bible and turn to any page in it, and Fred will tell you the name of the book and just about the chapter you have your hand on.
Seibert was born in Waverly, Ia., and worked as a broom twister for nine years. After he was converted he entered the Moody Institute, where he stayed for a year and a half. Five years ago he joined the Sunday party. Ever since his duties have been that of taking care of the tabernacle and personal work.
To assist himself and others in this work, Fred wrote a little pamphlet, “Rescue the Perishing,” which has been accepted as an authority by experts of the Bible throughout the country.
Seibert is married, and as two children, who live in Santa Monica, Cal., but the greatest thing, next to his family and his God, is the greatest respect.
Fred pays his children so much for learning scripture and they have to memorize every week and recite it word for word.
The little boy and girl of mine keep on learning scripture and they interrupt their “daddy,” said Fred.
And they that follow me, because I do not believe he doesn’t care.
Many fielders in professional baseball in the mid to late 1880’s did not wear a glove. It was even seen ‘unmanly’ by some. The Billy Sunday museum home in Winona Lake has a glove on display that may have been his personal glove when he played. It looks much like the glove below. His baseball card below shows a glove similar to what is pictured here as well.
A postcard postmarked November 23, 1909, recently sold on eBay with the following handwritten message by the sender.
[This text is legally in public domain.]
Dear Mother & Father,
Am sending you this of “Billy Sunday” if anyone ever says anything against him tell them they don’t know a thing about him he is a sincere Christian he doesn’t go around the bush for any one he is out spoken and some people can’t stand that. are all well hope you are the same.
There seems to be no record of Sunday hosting an evangelistic campaign at Havana, Illinois. This postcard is titled “Billy Sunday addressing 4,000 people at Chautauqua, Havana, Illinois.”
This appearance was part of the broader Chautauqua movement, which brought religious, educational, and cultural programming to communities across the United States.
While Havana isn’t listed among the cities where Sunday held his major revival campaigns, his participation in the Chautauqua there reflects his widespread influence and the popularity of his preaching style. These events often featured prominent speakers and were significant cultural gatherings in early 20th-century America.
Billy Sunday conducted his Scranton, Pennsylvania revival campaign from March 29 to May 17, 1914.
Billy Sunday’s 1915 revival campaign in Syracuse was held in a massive tabernacle specially constructed on the grounds of the old Scranton Driving Park, a former racetrack near the intersection of Providence Road and Green Ridge Street. The venue, built to accommodate the large crowds drawn by Sunday’s fiery preaching, held around 8,000 people at full capacity.
Over the course of the campaign, tens of thousands streamed into the tabernacle, with some estimates suggesting that more than 100,000 people in total heard Sunday preach during the weeks-long revival. The response was overwhelming—not just in attendance but in impact. Reports from the time estimate that between 13,000 and 15,000 individuals made public decisions for Christ, “hitting the sawdust trail” as they came forward to commit their lives to faith. The scale and energy of the campaign made it one of the more memorable revivals of Sunday’s career, leaving a significant spiritual and cultural imprint on the city of Syracuse.
The Scranton campaign was notable for its massive local organization, media coverage, and impact on surrounding cities. It was one of his early high-profile campaigns in the northeast, setting the stage for later revivals in Boston (1916), New York (1917), and elsewhere.
Here is the detail on the postcard and the handwritten message.
Postmarked 7 April (7:30 pm) from Scranton, PA
Dear Friend Mrs Lewis and Daughter
I have send papers to you and some to you to day. I want you to Read the sermons. Oh the grand Parade we had. All the Sunday’s school did turn out and those have been converted. We can feel the spirit of God in this place. Please let get word from you. I’d be thankful. RC Jones
Feb. 22—Fifty Boston ministers and laymen go to Philadelphia; hear Sunday preach for first time; walk into his bedroom the next morning and demand that he come to Boston. Sunday accepts and date is fixed for Fall of 1916.
March 6—Organization of Boston committee announced at big meeting in Park Street Church.
March 7—Committee files papers at State House as “Boston Sunday Evangelistic Committee, Incorporated.”
1916
Jan. 21—Committee decides to build tabernacle on Huntington-av site.
March 22—Twenty members of Boston Committee go to Baltimore to learn their jobs from campaign workers in that city.
April 27—Wooden tabernacle bill vetoed by Gov McCall. Committee nonplussed.
April 30—Campaign for $100,000 in guaranty pledges launched.
Aug. 10—Ground broken for tabernacle. Mayor Curley attends. Joe Spiece begins work.
Oct. 2—Cottage prayer meetings open.
Nov. 12—BILLY SUNDAY PREACHES FIRST SERMON IN BOSTON.
As appearing in The Boston Globe Sun, Oct 15, 1916 • Page 80
In early 1916, Billy Sunday launched one of the most ambitious evangelistic campaigns of his career in Boston—a city known for its intellectualism and religious diversity. Running from January through April, the campaign was meticulously organized, with more than 5,000 volunteers and significant cooperation from local churches. A massive tabernacle, seating up to 20,000 people, was specially constructed on Huntington Avenue, symbolizing the scale and seriousness of the effort.
Over the course of the revival, more than 1.5 million people attended Sunday’s fiery sermons. His preaching, characterized by dramatic flair and passionate appeals, emphasized personal salvation, moral reform, and national righteousness. At a time when World War I loomed and social tensions were high, Sunday’s message struck a chord. He was especially vocal against alcohol, aligning his campaign with the growing Prohibition movement.
Despite initial skepticism from Boston’s more refined religious circles, Sunday’s influence grew as thousands “hit the sawdust trail” in public commitment to Christ. Media coverage was extensive, and the revival became a citywide spectacle. The impact extended beyond the tabernacle, as many local churches reported a lasting spiritual renewal.
Sunday’s 1916 Boston campaign stands as a milestone in American revival history—an event that combined religious fervor, civic organization, and cultural theater in a way that few evangelists before or after have matched.
Evangelist Billy Sunday (1862-1935) 