This is an IHeart podcast.

This is Lee Habib, and this is our American stories, and we tell stories about everything here on this show, from the arts to sports

and from business to history and everything in between, including your stories. Send them to

Our American Stories.com. They're some of our favorites. Eleven presidents, the Pope, and dozens of

world leaders have shared their personal thoughts about matters of faith with him.

We would like to give a wholehearted thank you to the folks at the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association for granting us permission to use the footage you're about to hear from their

exceptional film, Billy Graham, An Extraordinary Journey.

Here's Greg Hengler with the story of Billy Graham.

Billy Graham was born on a dairy farm in Charlotte, North Carolina, on November 7, 1918.

As a boy, he spent his time following baseball, reading Tarzan, and perfecting his technique

swinging from vines in the nearby woods.

Here's Billy's mother, Maro Graham, his sister Jean, his brother Melvin, and Billy himself.

Every afternoon, as Billy came through the door,

Mother, those were his first words, and I knew Billy was on the premises.

He read every thousand book, and then he would go down in the woods,

and he would try to act out, so it didn't work too well.

He and Melvin worked on the dairy farm.

Melvin loved the hard work.

Billy Frank really didn't like to do physical work.

Never did.

My brother was interested primarily in two things.

That would be baseball and girls.

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