The San Francisco call., 1909-02-12
SUNDAY
SAVING SINNERS
WHITEHALL TALK
Stirs San Francisco by FeryOr
of Religion COuched in
Slang of Fans
JargOn of Diamond Mixed With
Biblical Quotations by
Evangelist
By William J. SIattery

monCS OF the NaDonal 4eaS ue, STaCeO
san Francisco. with his presence yes
terday afternoon for the first time.
Before bedtime fully 10000 knew that
the king Of the evangelists was among
them. Half that number heard him in
his TRADE against sin at Dreamland
rink. and the other half had wind of
the sensation which he started in the
City of Sensations. He swooped down
upon the multitude like a Kansas
cyclone. He hayed all classes alike,
rich and poor and high and low He
gave his listeners a shaking up such as
they have not experienced since April
ls. 1906.
There are evangelists and evangelists.
and preachers and missionaries, but
there is only one Billy Sunday. We
have heard much Of his prowess and
his peculiarities and his speUbinding
methods, but none of these do the man
justice. He is in a class which none
of the others have as yet invaded. He
has his own style and his own tactics,
and nobody can appreciate what it all
Is till he or she has heard the former
BAH player and seen him act.
WAGES SPECIAL WAR
He wages war on Beelzebub with his
own special process process which
nobody else has thus far mastered. He
goes at his work rough shodS and he
is brimfun of that kind Of enthusiasm
which wins men. women and children to
his way Of thinking. He talks to them
in the jargon of the diamond and the
slang Of the street, and he comes back
again at them with biblical qdotations
and passages from the works of the
old masters and the Grecian authors
lie has everything that man needs TO
mystify and awe and convert an audi
ence. There is nothing lacking in his
wonderful makeup. When he starts he
has everybody with him.
mere never was an evangelist nor a
public speaker who boasted a more nm
usual career than this same Billy Sun
day Tis hard to believe that this man
VINO is now fighting the fight of the
Lord was rough and ready ball tosser
or the good old palmy days Of the dia
mond, who used 10 think more of A
Two base hit than he did Of the king
oom or heaven. II is hard to combine
two more difficult callings than the one
which sunday followed p years ago
and the one which is his today
WHITE sox HERO
quarter Of a century back Sunday
was the right fielder on the famous old
Chicago White Sox team, one of the
most historic that Uncle Sans great
national pastime ever knew. Then he
was the diamond hero OF the hour.
sharing the honOrs with the mighty
John Clarkson. Mike Kelly. Pop Anson.
Ed Williamson, George Gore and the
others. whose memories will never die
so long as the game Of baseball lives
and prospers.
Sunday was the heetest runner of the
diamond in those DAYS. and. incidental
ly, the man has never played ball since
who could travel over the paths as the
now renowned evangelist used to. He
was the pride of Chicago and the pet
OF Anson, the man who led the fighting
ball team TO so many glorious victories.
Nobody not even Sunday himself. ever
dreamed that a few more years would
find him on the road preaching relig-
ion instead Of laying down bunts to
win games for Chicago.
But Sunday got religion one MEM
orable day and the seemingly improb
able came TO pass He responded to the
call and in the tumult Of his environ
naent he forgot the ball field, where he
had labored and fought for so many
gears He was laughed at and ridi-
culed and. scorned by fans and players
alike. but nothing could stay his deter
mination TO take up the burden in the
name Of his Creator. He entered upon
his new career full of confidence and
zeal and he has been fighting winning
fight ever since.
BIBLE REPLACES BAT
"Once dreamed of nothing but
knocking the ball out OF the lot" said
Sunday yesterday. but now my ambi
tion is to knock the devil out of the
hearts OF sinners. The bible has taken
the place Of the bat in my affections,
and i hope 10 score as many sinners
as I did bases in those good old days
when the White SoX used TO beat them
all-and we barred no team
Tngrossed as he is in his new life,
Riuv sunday still loves the game Of
baseball He can't forget It, Even in
his sermons he must refer TO il. The
sport took a deep root in his heart
when he was but lad and he uses II
now in his crusade against sin. Base
bali TO him is still sacred It's part of
long as he is an evangelist he viii use
il In the Lords fight
He told the crowd at Dreamland rink
last night Of his conversiOn-how he
got religion when he dreamed nothing
save stolen bases and running catches
He related how the Lord had called
him to the new field and how he re-
sponded he told OF his trials and his
tribulations and his own temptations
and his struggles, and he fairly beamed
with happiness and JOY when he in
formed his listeners that he is a better
fighter today than he was the day he
quiz the diamond for the pulpit
MTNGLES SLANG AND GOSPEL
There was many an old man and old
woman in that audience yesterday who
did not know half what Sunday was
telling them. but they could ali see by
his earnest manner and the feryent
light in his eyes that he was ION the
square" as he put IL. Tis so seldom
that man who is preaching the word
Of God searches the diamond and the
street for his pet phrases that only the
up TO date ones find themselves capable
Special High Glass Party East
Leave san Francisco February - for
Nc -, IN zion d G. Baltimore. PhfladeI-