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)
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.
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 the early 20th century, no evangelist captured the American imagination quite like Billy Sunday. With his blazing speed on the baseball diamond and firebrand preaching style in packed tabernacles, Sunday became a household name. But who was the man behind the headlines and revival tents?
While some 1930s newspapers portrayed him as a tragic figure in decline, the truth is both richer and more inspiring. Here are the most accurate and meaningful highlights of Billy Sunday’s life—stories that are not only true, but worth remembering.
1. From Iowa Log Cabin to Orphan’s Home
Billy Sunday was born on November 19, 1862, in a humble two-room cabin in Story County, Iowa. His father, a Civil War soldier, died when Billy was just a month old. Poverty and hardship followed. By age 8, Billy was working odd jobs to help support his family, and at 9 he was sent to live in state-run orphanages in Glenwood and Davenport with his brother Edward. It was a rough start—but one that forged a resilient spirit.
Sunday childhood cabin
2. A Baseball Star is Born
Billy Sunday
Billy’s speed made him a local legend in fire brigade races and eventually caught the attention of Cap Anson, manager of the Chicago White Stockings. In 1884, Billy went straight from sandlot baseball to the major leagues, where he played for Chicago, Pittsburgh, and Philadelphia. He was known for:
Circling the bases in 14 seconds
Lightning speed and dramatic fielding
Coaching at Northwestern University in the off-season
Though not a superstar at the plate, Sunday’s athleticism and work ethic made him a fan favorite.
3. A Saloon, a Hymn, and a Mission
In 1887, while still a ballplayer, Billy heard hymns outside the Pacific Garden Mission in Chicago. Drawn in by the music, he began attending services and was soon converted to Christianity. His transformation was real and lasting.
He turned down lucrative baseball contracts and took a $1,000-a-year job at the Chicago YMCA, launching a new career path—urban evangelism. He later joined J. Wilbur Chapman as an assistant before launching his solo revival ministry in 1896.
Pacific Garden Mission circa 1914
4. Revivalism Redefined
Billy Sunday became one of the most dynamic preachers in American history. His sermons were:
Full of slang, humor, and action
Delivered in massive tabernacles, often seating 10,000–20,000
Focused on personal repentance, moral reform, and civic virtue
In New York City (1917), he preached to over 1.5 million people in ten weeks. He gave the entire $120,465 offering to war charities. In Chicago, he donated another $65,000 to the Pacific Garden Mission.
No other evangelist of his day had such reach—or gave so much away.
5. The Power Couple: Billy and “Ma” Sunday
Billy met Nell Thompson in Sunday school, and after overcoming her family’s resistance to marrying a ballplayer, the two became partners for life. Nell—or “Ma,” as the nation came to know her—was the administrative backbone of Billy’s ministry. She managed his schedule, finances, and logistics, allowing him to focus on preaching.
Ellen Sanders Collection: Photos from her grandmother Ruth Shafer Hines who taught in Odell School 1920-1921. She came to Hood River with her aunt and uncle Jen and Dan Feldwish.
6. Later Years: Sorrow, Sacrifice, and Perseverance
Though his ministry never lost its power, Billy’s later years were marked by tragedy:
His daughter Helen died in 1932.
His son George died in 1933 after personal and financial collapse.
He suffered a heart attack in 1933 but returned to preaching against doctors’ orders.
He resumed small-town revivals to support his grandchildren, after spending his savings trying to rescue George’s failed business.
Despite failing health and shrinking crowds, Billy Sunday kept preaching. Not for fame. Not for money. But because he believed the gospel still needed to be heard.
Final Reflection
Billy Sunday’s story is often misunderstood. Yes, he lived through grief, made financial sacrifices, and returned to smaller venues. But he did not die penniless. He died spent—having poured out his life in the service of others and the cause of Christ.
🗣️ A Quote to Remember
“I want to preach until I can’t preach anymore, and then I want to crawl up into the pulpit and die.” —Billy Sunday
This 1923 lithograph of Billy Sunday by George Bellows (detail) “…captures the fiery, spiritual intensity of Sunday’s oratory skills by emphasizing his forceful gesture one that delights his audience and charges the whole scene with a celestial glow.” — National Portrait Gallery
—Literally From November 9 to December 17, 1905, Billy Sunday preached daily to crowds of 6,000–10,000 in a massive wooden tabernacle. On the final night, 7,000 packed the building, with 5,000 more turned away.
2. Sunday Preached Himself to Collapse
On December 18, Sunday collapsed in front of 4,000 people, fainting from exhaustion after weeks of near-constant preaching. Newspapers feared for his life. He had been preaching “day and night for months” with little rest.
3. 2,500 Converts Publicly Responded
By the end of the campaign, 2,484 people had “hit the trail”, coming forward in response to Sunday’s bold calls for repentance. Men’s meetings alone drew thousands, with hundreds responding in a single afternoon.
4. $4,000 Raised in Free-Will Offerings
The people of Burlington gave Sunday over $4,000, a substantial sum for the time, reflecting both appreciation and the revival’s reach across economic lines.
5. The Mayor Ordered Saloons Closed on Sundays
The revival’s influence extended beyond the pulpit. Mayor Caster issued a public order to close all saloons on Sundays, a clear response to Sunday’s fiery sermons against the liquor trade.
6. A Civic Reform League Was Born
Sunday’s preaching catalyzed long-term impact: 150 citizens formed the Civic Reform League to continue fighting for moral reform and social change after the campaign ended.
7. His Style Divided the Crowd
While many were inspired, others were offended. The Cedar Rapids Gazette praised his sincerity but criticized his “gutter language” and aggressive tone. Sunday, however, refused to hold back: “You say, ‘It’s nobody’s business what I do.’ Hear me—it’s everybody’s business what everybody does.”
8. His Sermons Were a Fusion of Gospel and Social Commentary
Sunday denounced profanity, spiritual apathy, poor parenting, and cultural decay with equal fire. His sermons were revival messages with a conscience, tackling both personal sin and systemic vice.
9. Sunday Preached to a City, Not Just a Crowd
He reached every class—from maids to manufacturers, skeptics to civic leaders. His revival stirred the homes, workplaces, newspapers, and even local politics of Burlington.
10. Burlington Witnessed Both the Brilliance and the Breaking of a Revivalist
The Burlington campaign was a turning point in Sunday’s early career. It showed his remarkable reach, but also the cost of his calling. He preached with such intensity that it nearly ended his ministry—or his life.
1. Massive Crowds Turned Out —Even in the Snow From October 31 to December 19, 1915, Sunday preached to 911,000 total attendees across seven weeks. Even snowstorms didn’t deter the crowds of 12,000 to 15,000 per service, and many were turned away due to overflow.
2. More Than 22,000 “Hit the Trail” A stunning 22,449 people came forward during the campaign to publicly commit to Christ—among them hundreds of university students, local business leaders, bartenders, and skeptics.
3. Syracuse University Played a Major Role Over 3,000 faculty and students marched to the tabernacle on “University Night,” led by the Syracuse University brass band. Sunday addressed students in chapels, dorms, and fraternities, resulting in over 400 student conversions.
4. Sunday Preached to Every Layer of Society From “maids in kitchens” to “people of refinement and wealth,” no social group was overlooked. Even those who initially rejected the campaign—like certain churches—eventually joined in.
5. A Choir of 4,500 Lifted the Campaign A multi-racial, interdenominational choir of 4,500 singers, broken into rotating choruses of 1,500, filled the tabernacle with powerful music. One men’s chorus was directed by “Rhody,” Sunday’s trombone-playing music leader.
6. Sunday’s Preaching Hammered the Liquor Trade Sunday’s infamous “booze sermon” hit hard. One bartender gave up his bar and called his brewery partners to end the business. Liquor sales dropped as much as 80% in some saloons, and 18,000 voters signed a petition for better Sabbath law enforcement.
7. The Campaign Reached Beyond Syracuse Sunday’s team held satellite revivals and Bible classes in towns within a 50-mile radius. People traveled from as far as Buffalo to attend his services.
8. The Campaign Raised Over $50,000 The free-will offering totaled $23,112, with some reports suggesting over $50,000 collected when including uncounted checks and charitable gifts. Sunday received $11,155 of that total, with much going to local causes.
9. The Local Press Gave Him Their Blessing Even once-skeptical newspapers eventually endorsed the revival, noting “cleaner speech,” moral renewal, and a “fresh and bracing moral ozone” in the city’s atmosphere.
10. It Ended with Song, Tears, and a Chautauqua Salute On December 19, at the closing service attended by 13,000, Sunday invited his team to the platform, and the crowd sang “God Be With You Till We Meet Again.” Thousands followed him to the train station to sing one final goodbye.
Billy Sunday conducted a significant revival campaign in Syracuse, New York, from October 31 to December 19, 1915. This campaign was part of his broader evangelistic efforts during the 1910s, a period when he held major revivals in cities like Philadelphia, Kansas City, Detroit, Boston, Buffalo, and New York City.
Lincoln Journal Star
Fri, Dec 31, 1915 · Page 2
LEADING CITIZENS LINED UP
BIG MEN OF SYRACUSE HIT TRAIL AT SUNDAY MEETINGS.
Remarkable Results Achieved by Evangelist as Told by Member of Local Committee.
Here is the story of the Billy Sunday campaign in Syracuse, N. Y., as told by a local committeeman in the current issue of the Christian Advocate, one of the leading Methodist papers of the country:
The seven weeks of the ‘Billy’ Sunday campaign have passed altogether too quickly. The interest which was at the flood when representatives of fifty-four churches in 250 automobiles, and hundreds of the faculty and students of Syracuse university, led by the university brass band, met ‘Billy’ Sunday and his party at the railroad station on the afternoon of October 30, and escorted them to the handsome residence on Onondaga street which was to be their home while in Syracuse, has continued without abatement, and there has been no slump at any time in the attendance at the services, a somewhat unusual circumstance Mr. Sunday tells us. At the evening services and three times on Sunday the tabernacle has been packed with an audience numbering from 12,000 to 15,000 people and an evening when, on account of a snowstorm, the streets were well-nigh impassable, was no exception. People from as far west as Buffalo have come in large delegations to the afternoon services and members of the Sunday party have gone out into communities within a radius of fifty miles of Syracuse, and have held evangelistic services and organized classes for Bible study. Stores, factories, high schools and the university have given Mr. Sunday and his party the largest possible audience. No class of persons has been omitted by the ministry of these good people, from the maids in the kitchen to the people of refinement and wealth, into whose homes Mr. Sunday has been most welcome. The choir of 4,500 people was composed of persons without regard to race, color or creed, and this choir was divided into choruses of 1,500 each, one chorus being made up of men, and was under the masterful leadership of a member of the party known familiarly as “Rhody,” who is a soloist trombonist and between whom and Mr. Sunday there is the feeling that existed between David and Jonathan.
A Memorable Sabbath.
A service that stands out conspicuously as one of the most wonderful of the campaign was held on Sunday morning, November 14, when, following the sermon, Mr. Sunday gave the invitation for the first time for the people to come forward and take his hand and 1,500 responded, some for reconsecration, others to announce for the first time their desire to lead the christian life.
Memorable Sabbath that, for Pentecost repeated itself, when over 3,000 “hit the trail.” Another service not soon to be forgotten was on Sunday morning, December 12, when, after a powerful sermon by Mr. Sunday, and an appeal which brought hundreds to the front, Chancellor Day was invited to the platform, to pray for the penitents, and as he and the evangelist stood side by side, men equally great in their respective realms, and the chancellor poured out his soul in a wonderful prayer for those who were inquiring the way of salvation, the great assembly was mightily moved.
The greatest week-day evening, perhaps, was what was known as university night, when about 3,000 of the faculty and students, led by the university band, marched to the tabernacle.
Opportunity was given by the leader before the service for college songs and yells, and the people from the hill certainly owned things for a while. After the sermon, when the invitation was given, scores went forward and took Mr. Sunday by the hand, thereby indicating their desire to lead a Christian life.
Mr. Sunday and his co-workers have given much of their time to the students, speaking to them at mass meetings, chapel services and in their fraternities, sororities and dormitories, with the result that up to this time over 400 have hit the trail.
Hundreds Unite With Churches.
The results of this wonderful religious movement can only be tabulated in part at this time. While hundreds have united with the churches, hundreds who have not been active in the church for years have renewed their vows. Employers have come down the aisles of the tabernacles on evenings when their employees have been attending in a body, leading them by twos and threes to the front. Business men and manufacturers have suspended business and work that their employees might hear the message from Mr. Sunday or a member of his party. Firms which at the beginning were not especially friendly to the movement have extended warm welcomes to those who would hold meetings in the shops. As a striking instance of a change of front toward the Sunday campaign, one church which did not join in the invitation to Mr. Sunday to come to this city, and refused to be one of the co-operating churches in the campaign, was represented on the evening when the brotherhood of the different churches occupied reservations by the rector and over one hundred men. True it is that the people who are speaking against Mr. Sunday are the folks who have refused to hear him.
The liquor traffic has been roughly handled. While “Billy” Sunday does not preach a sermon in which he does not score the rum business, when he preached the booze sermon he said: “You have heard me make a few remarks about the liquor traffic that you might get your mental adjustments, but next Sunday I will preach on booze or get on the water wagon, and this sermon always gives the devil the pneumonia.” Afternoons and evenings he preached to audiences of men only, who packed the tabernacle, and that sermon and his general crusade against the liquor business have certainly made the liquor men sick (of their business). Business in some of the down-town places has fallen off 30 per cent. In three places, where crowds have been accustomed to gather at night, the clientele has been cut almost in two. The receipts of the most fashionable bar in the city have fallen off 80% and an aloonkeeper in referring to the matter said: “The Billy Sunday has about destroyed the saloon business in Syracuse.” Several bartenders have hit the trail and one or lookkeeper, after he had hit the trail, went back to his home and called up the brewers who were back of him in business and told them they could take the business, for he was through. On the day when the “booze” sermon was preached a card requesting the mayor to enforce the law relative to Sabbath observance and liquor traffic was signed by 18,000 voters.
Secular Press Endorses Sunday.
To quote from a recent editorial in one or but our evening papers not especially favorable to the campaign at the beginning: “Cleaner speech, the only reliable index of clean thought, is everywhere noted. There is a sensible abatement of vice of every kind. Moral derelicts have been rescued by the hundreds and have been placed on th solid ground of hope and renewed self-confidence, but the individual instances of strange conversations, better resolutions sand redeemed estrays do not begin to measure the results of the Sunday crusade. The whole atmosphere of the community has been charged with a fresh and bracing moral ozone and to Mr. Sunday and his party we extend our sincere expression of appreciation, respect and gratitude.”
Last Day of Campaign.
On the last day, Sunday, December 19, four services were held. One of the afternoon services was for men only and with such power did Mr. Sunday reason on the judgment to come that five hundred men responded to his appeal at the close of the sermon. In the evening the tabernacle was packed in every part by thirteen thousand people, hundreds being turned away. The evangelist urged the people to an immediate decision, with the result that fifteen hundred hit the trail. More of the leading citizens took a stand for Christ at these meetings than at any of the previous services. An impressive feature of the evening service was when Mr. Sunday invited members of his party to come on the platform and the vast audience, led by a choir of fifteen hundred voices, sang: “God be with you till we meet again” and gave the chautauqua salute.
Twenty-three thousand one hundred and fifty-five hit the trail during the campaign. Over $50,000 has been received through the offerings, several thousands going to local charities. Mr. Sunday received $11,155 as a free-will offering. The evangelist paid a high compliment to the people of Syracuse at the closing service. He said because of their co-operation with him and their effort to provide him with every comfort he was leaving a very much better man physically than when he came. Thousands went to the depot and sang the songs they had learned to love to Mr. and Mrs. Sunday, whom they had also learned to love, as they took their departure to their western home.
The [Wilkes-Barre] Times Leader. Mon, Dec 20, 1915 ·Page 25
SUNDAY CAMPAIGN CLOSES
Syracuse Gives Evangelist $23,000 and Nearly 20,000 Converts
With the free will offering amounting to more than $23,000 and the converts numbering nearly 20,000, the Billy Sunday campaign at Syracuse closed yesterday amid great enthusiasm. More than 2,000 converts marched down the aisle and grasped the evangelist by the hand during the day.
It is understood that personal checks amounting to several hundred dollars have not yet been counted in the free-will offering and the total collection is expected to reach close to $24,000. Syracuse now ranks third in point of attendance, conversions and free-will offering of all the cities in which the evangelist conducted campaigns.
The Buffalo News. Mon, Dec 20, 1915 ·Page 3
BILLY SUNDAY CLOSES SYRACUSE CAMPAIGN
911,000 Total Attendance—Trail-hitters Numbered 22,449.
Syracuse, Dec. 29—Rev. Billy Sunday closed his seven weeks evangelistic campaign in Syracuse last night. At four meeting during the day he preached to more than 50,000 persons. His thanks offering was $23,112.
The total attendance at the Sunday meetings was 911,000, trail hitters numbered 22,449. The evangelist and his wife left last night for their home at Winona Lake, Wis., to rest a week before opening the campaign at Trenton, N. J., one week from Sunday. Five thousand persons gathered at the railroad station to bid him farewell.
In one of his closing sermons Sunday took a fling at ‘cold church people,’ saying among other things: ‘I’ve got no use for a bottle-fed church. Some preachers are like huge nursing bottle with 500 rubber tubes running to a lot of 200-pound babies in the churches and the preacher has to be a wet nurse to the whole bunch.’
Original postcard with June 1925, Winona Lake postmark on back. Sent from Harriet Yoder to Hugh Yoder (South Bend, IN)
The Winona Lake Billy Sunday Tabernacle was built in 1921. It was demolished in 1992. At that time it was the last remaining standing Billy Sunday Tabernacle. The Moody Bible Institute (then-called) hosted Bible conferences at the Winona Lake Billy Sunday Tabernacle during it’s last several years of usage. Usually held in July, the experience was hailed as ‘Moody Week.’
The bloghost attended Moody week’s events of 1894-1986, hearing speakers of the likes of Howard Hendricks, Elwood McQuaid, John Walvoord, Warren Weirsbe, Lehman Strauss, Joe Stowell, Marv Rosenthal, George Sweeting, David Jeremiah, and Vance Havner.
Evangelist Billy Sunday (1862-1935) 