This is an I-Heart podcast.

Guaranteed Human.

This is Lee Habib, and this is Our American Stories.

100 years ago, Billy Sunday was among the most famous and influential men in America.

Here to share another story is Robert Morgan, who is the author of 100 Bible verses that made America

defining moments that shaped our enduring foundation of faith.

Let's take a listen.

His name was Billy, and he was an evangelist, but he wasn't

Billy Graham. Before Billy Graham, there was Billy Sunday. This man was born in 1862,

outside Ames, Iowa, in a little log cabin with rough boards for a floor. It was during the Civil War, and Billy never saw nor knew his father.

The Elder Sunday, William, was a contractor in Brick Mason.

He enlisted in the Union Army, and while fording a river, he became wet to the skin,

contracted a severe cold, and died from pneumonia during the war. He was buried at

Camp Patterson and Missouri. The young widow, Mary, tried to raise her new baby and his older

brother, Ed, but it was a hard prairie life. Billy grew up milking cows, cutting wood, building fences, and riding horses.

Despite her best efforts, Mrs. Sunday couldn't provide for her boys, and at length, she set them

to the soldier's orphans home at Glenwood, Iowa. Billy later recalled how she took them to the train station, her eyes red with tears,

and put them on the train without even being able to give them enough money for the ticket.

A kind railroad man, touched by their story, let them ride for free.

When Billy was 14, he went with his brother Ed to live with their

grandfather back near Ames. Shortly afterward, Billy was able to enroll in high school. He proved

to be a sensational athlete. His speed as a runner was incredible, and he became known as one of the

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