An Annotated Bibliographic Guide to William “Billy” A. Sunday
Compiled by Eric M. Bradley
Introduction
William Ashley Sunday, Sr., better known as Billy Sunday, was an baseball player turned
Christian evangelist of early twentieth century Progressive Era America. Through his large scale
evangelistic campaigns Sunday helped advance the prohibition movement, stirred support for
military action against Central Powers in World War I, and won souls to Christianity through a
fiery, charismatic preaching style. The aim of this annotated bibliography is to give descriptive
entries of primary resource guides, published campaign pieces, collected sermons, biographies,
and dissertations and theses of this picturesque evangelist.
Biography
Sunday was born November 19, 1862 near Ames, Iowa to William and Mary Jane
(Corey) Sunday. His father, a Union Army soldier, died of disease while serving in the Civil
War. His mother remarried in 1870, but was abandoned after the birth of two additional
children. The situation forced Sunday and his older brother into an orphanage and eventually to
their grandfather‘s farm. At age 14, after a dispute with his Grandfather, Sunday moved to
Nevada, Iowa, where he held odd jobs and attended high school.
After graduating high school and completing an apprenticeship, Sunday played on an
amateur baseball team in Marshalltown, Iowa. In 1883 his athletic ability, mainly his speed,
caught the eye of baseball scout Ada C. ―Pop‖ Anson, who brought him to the Chicago White
Stockings (now known as the Chicago Cubs). While not the most talented ball player, he did
manage to play eight years. It was during his baseball career that he became a Christian in 1886
at the Pacific Garden Mission in Chicago, and on September 5, 1888 married Helen ―Ma‖
Amelia Thompson.
After his baseball career ended by personal choice in 1891, Sunday worked for the
Chicago YMCA, and later as an assistant and ‗advance man‘ for evangelist J. Wilbur Chapman.
In 1896 Sunday held his first evangelistic campaign in Garner, Iowa, and for the next decade
held meetings throughout small, rural towns in the Midwest. However by 1915 Sunday was
holding large scale evangelistic campaigns in major American cities, including Philadelphia,
Detroit, Boston, New York City, and Chicago.
Sunday‘s campaigns were marked by their tabernacles, large barnlike wooden structures
temporarily built in each city Sunday visited. Their floors were nothing more than the bare
ground sprinkled with sawdust. Converts to the messages would walk down the ―Sawdust Trail‖
to shake Sunday‘s hand in announcing their personal commitment to Jesus Christ. The
tabernacle built in New York City held 20,000, and was filled two times daily thought the ten
week 1917 campaign. Throughout his lifetime Sunday spoke to an estimated 1,250,000, this in a
time before mass media devices such as television and the internet.
Evangelistic campaigns continued through the twenties and early thirties, although
Sunday‘s prominence practically vanished over these years, as he spoke in mainly rural areas.
His children frequently made tabloid headlines for perverse behaviors, his stand on prohibition
became increasing unpopular, and his own sermons became darker and wrapped up in issues
such as the end times. Sunday died in Chicago on November 6, 1935.
Billy Sunday Annotated Bibliographic Guide - 2
Influence
Although it may have appeared in 1935 that Billy Sunday‘s causes were in vain,
Sunday‘s impact on twentieth century American cannot be understated. His evangelistic
approaches and techniques have been reapplied numerous times and have been attributed to the
evangelistic crusades of Billy Graham; large scale evangelistic conferences including Promise
Keepers, Women of Faith, and Acquire the Fire; and the mega church movement.
Billy Graham was notability impacted by attending a Billy Sunday campaign as a child,
and during Youth for Christ national conferences in the nineteen-fifties had close contact with
Sunday‘s widow Ma. Sunday‘s footprint remains imprinted in twentieth century evangelicalism
and the religious culture of the early twenty-first century America.
Scope and Intended Audience
This guide is intended for introducing researchers and students to the body of literature of
secondary resources produced on Billy Sunday. Its scope is intended to provide an adequate
range of materials for the researcher, but provide students with easily marked starting points. All
works cited are located at Morgan Library of Grace College and Theological Seminary in
Winona Lake, Indiana. This library collects a comprehensive level of materials on Sunday and
houses his papers. The neighboring Billy Sunday Home & Visitor Center contains the personal
items of Sunday left intact since the death of Ma Sunday in 1957.
As with all guides, this comes with several limitations. With focusing on secondary
resources it does not list newspaper articles unless part of a compiled work. As an introduction
to research, it does it list magazine or academic journal articles unless directly related to a
specific campaign. Future revisions of this guide will include annotations of magazine and
academic journal articles.
Methodology
This annotated bibliography began as an undergraduate project of the editor in January
2005 to create an exhaustive bibliography of Billy Sunday. The ongoing work, currently with
over 600 entries, began with a complete survey of Reader‘s Guide to Periodical Literature,
Christian Periodical Index, and the Morgan Library Catalog examining bibliographies of 300
titles with references to Billy Sunday. These titles included major biographies and theses which
reflect fifty years of scholarly research beyond the current capacities of the editor.
Organization
This annotated bibliography is organized in five sections, covering the major categories
of materials produced about Billy Sunday. These are primary resource guides, published
campaign pieces, collected sermons, biographies, and dissertations and theses. Primary resource
guides provide indexes and descriptions to the major repositories of original material connected
to Sunday. Published campaign pieces list booklets, souvenirs, and pamphlets published for
individual campaigns. Collected sermons list compiled and edited works of Sunday‘s campaign
sermons. Biographies include critical and popular writings on Sunday‘s life and influence.
Billy Sunday Annotated Bibliographic Guide - 3
Dissertations and theses include all graduate research work which devotes a large percentage or
all its content to Sunday.
Each work is cited by the ‗humanities style‘ as laid out in The Chicago Manual of Style,
15th edition. It is the hope of the editor that this annotated work can provide a snapshot of the
heart of the Sunday materials, and introduce and assist a new generation of discerning
researchers into the rich and unique world of Billy Sunday.
Billy Sunday Annotated Bibliographic Guide - 4
Annotated Bibliography
Primary Resource Guides
Firstenberger, William A. ―Materials of an Anti-Materialist: An Interpretation of the Baseball
Evangelist, Billy Sunday, through an Examination of Material Culture at His Home in
Winona Lake, Indiana.‖ MA thesis, Indiana University, 2000.
Provides a material culture interpretation of Sunday through an examination of the
surroundings, structure, and contents of his Winona Lake, Indiana home. The appendix
provides photographs and descriptions of many of Sunday‘s personal items.
Shuster, Robert. The Papers of William and Helen Sunday: A Guide to the Microfilm Collection.
Wheaton, IL: Billy Graham Center, 1978.
A guide to the microfilm copy of the Sunday Papers. The guide lists where materials are
held within the microfilm reels and also the original papers, which housed at Morgan
Library of Grace College and Theological Seminary in Winona Lake, Indiana. Microfilm
copies of the microfilm are currently located at Morgan Library and at the Billy Graham
Center of Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois. Includes biographical sketch.
Shuster, Robert D., James Stambaugh, and Ferne Weimer. Researching Modern Evangelicalism:
A Guide to the Holdings of the Billy Graham Center, with Information on Other
Collections, Bibliographies and Indexes in Religious Studies. New York: Greenwood
Press, 1990.
This guide lists all the holdings at the Billy Graham Center, which includes one set of the
Sunday Paper‘s microfilm and collections of Billy and Ma Sunday, and also Homer
Rodeheaver. Also list other archives and their major collections, several which include
materials relative to Sunday.
Published Campaign Pieces
Spokane, Washington: December 25, 1908 – February 1909
Souvenir: "Billy" Sunday Spokane Campaign. Sopkane, WA: Trevor Orton, 1909.
A 42 page souvenir booklet of the 1909 Sopkane campaign, giving biographical sketches
of the Evangelistic party (including pre-Rodeheaver song leader Fred Fischer), the
campaign organization with a listing of local sponsoring churches, and a brief description
of the actual campaign.
Springfield, Illinois: February 26 – April, 1909
Rev. W. A. Sunday Meetings at Springfield, Illinois: Souvenir. March-April, 1909. Bloomington,
IL: C. U. Williams, 1909.
Billy Sunday Annotated Bibliographic Guide - 5
A 60 page souvenir booklet of the 1909 Springfield campaign, giving biographical
sketches of the evangelistic party, pieces of sermons and listings of ―Sundayisms‖
(Sunday quotes). Includes pictures and statements of local religious leaders lending their
support to the campaign.
Kansas City: April 30 – June 18, 1916
Atchinson, G.A. Billy Sunday in Kansas City, May-June, 1916: Story of the Great Campaign
Day by Day. Trenton, NJ: G.A. Atchinson, 1916.
An 18 page booklet covering the events, organized by week, of the 1916 Kansas City
campaign. Includes pictures of the Kansas City tabernacle.
Boston: November 2, 1916 – January 21, 1917
Billy Sunday Boston Revival Souvenir. Boston, MA, 1916.
A 16 page souvenir booklet of the 1916-17 Boston campaign. Begins with a article titled
―Prohibition and What It Can Accomplish,‖ followed by a brief sketch of Sunday,
statistics of previous campaigns, pictures of the Boston tabernacle and of the Sunday
party, and of sponsoring religious leaders of the Boston area.
Billy Sunday Revival Hymns: Published by Special Permission in the Boston Post. Boston, MA:
Boston Post, 1917.
Printed as a supplement to the Boston Post, a collection of hymns (containing both lyrics
and music) sung at the 1916-17 Boston campaign. The front cover contains a picture of
Homer Rodeheaver leading song with his trombone.
Darr, William, comp. Billy Sunday's Boston Clippings. Winona Lake, IN: Morgan Library, Grace
College and Seminary, 2003.
A compilation of Boston newspaper clippings throughout the 1916-17 Boston campaign.
Contains sermons, statistics of offerings and conversions, and cartoons of both Sunday
and Rodeheaver.
Chicago: March 10 – May 19, 1918
Bridges, Horace J. Mr. Sunday’s Doctrines and the Clergy of Chicago. Chicago: The Ethical
Society, 1918.
A 14 page booklet published at the time of the 1918 Chicago campaign criticizing
Sunday‘s theology and his approaches. Attacks Sunday on his lack of qualifications, his
relationship with large business, and his highly advertised conversion statistics.
Billy Sunday Annotated Bibliographic Guide - 6
Collected Sermons
Sunday, William A. Billy Sunday Speaks. Edited by Karen Gullen. New York: Chelsea House
Publishers, 1970.
A collection of 15 Sunday sermons, and an appendix including ―Sundayisms‖ (Sunday
quotes), and three stories told by Sunday on his childhood, spiritual conversion, and wife.
Includes a biographical sketch and introduction by evangelist Oral Roberts.
———. Billy Sunday Speaks! One Thousand Epigrams of the World-Famous Evangelist. Grand
Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1937.
A collection of 1,000 epigrams or sentence sermons, separated by 27 subjects. Dust
cover says content collected by Sunday‘s wife ―Ma‖ and campaign music assistant B.D.
Ackley.
———. Billy Sunday's Sermons: As Reported by the Detroit Times. Detroit: The Detroit Times,
1916.
A 272 page compilation of the daily sermons spoken during the 1916 Detroit campaign:
September 10 to November 5. Sermons are titled by time of day given. Notable quotes
are in boxes on each page under headlines such as ―Billy Briefs,‖ ―Sunday Shafts,‖
―Sunday Samples,‖ and ―Snappy Sundayisms.‖
———. Face to Face with Satan. Knoxville, TN: Prudential Publishing Co., 1923.
A collection of Sunday quotes with lively illustrations. Quotes are presented on the right
side of the book fold while illustrations with subheadings are on the left.
———.Life and Labors of Rev. Wm. A. (Billy) Sunday: The Great Modern Evangelist, with
Selected Sermons. Decatur, IL: Herman, Poole, & Co., 1908.
Although the title may imply otherwise, a 366 page collection of Sunday‘s sermons
extracted from a Decatur, Illinois newspaper during the middle years of his evangelistic
career. Each sermon begins with a quote from the Bible in italics. Some sermons are
untitled, but most are titled by time of day given.
———. The New York Sermons of Billy Sunday: A Stenographic Record. Compiled by William
Darr. 21 vols. Winona Lake, IN: Morgan Library, Grace College and Seminary, 2005.
A word-for-word account of every sermon preached by Sunday at the 1917 New York
campaign, as recorded and transcribed by public stenographers. Sermons are titled by
time of day given, with other titles attributed to many.
———. The Omaha Sermons of Billy Sunday, September-October 1915: Reported by the Omaha
Daily News. Omaha, NE: Daily News, 1915.
Billy Sunday Annotated Bibliographic Guide - 7
A 206 page compilation of the daily sermons spoken during the 1915 Omaha campaign:
September 6 to October 24. Each page is separated into three columns, with the top
middle devoted to notable Sunday quotes, with headlines such as ―Sunday Sayings,‖ ―Hot
Shot,‖ and ―Sunday Shrapnel.‖
Biographies
Brown, Elijah P. The Real Billy Sunday: The Life and Work of Rev. William Ashley Sunday,
D.D., the Baseball Evangelist. Dayton, OH: Otterbein Press, 1914.
Written during the prime of Sunday‘s evangelistic career, covers Sunday‘s childhood,
baseball career and conversion, his rise to a prominent evangelist, and characteristics of a
Sunday meeting. Includes the sermons ―The Three Groups,‖ ―Under the Sun,‖ and
―Wonderful,‖ as well as a collection of quotes and a large collection of pictures.
Bruns, Roger A. Preacher: Billy Sunday and Big-Time American Evangelism. New York: W. W.
Norton & Co., 1992.
A critical treatment of Sunday‘s life, examining the evangelist in the light of late
twentieth century evangelicalism. The first two chapters cover Sunday‘s childhood and
baseball career, while the following ten chapters focus on the rise and peak of Sunday‘s
evangelist career, and the last chapter covers his decline and death.
Dorsett, Lyle W. Billy Sunday and the Redemption of Urban America. Grand Rapids, MI:
Eerdmans, 1991.
A critical treatment of Sunday‘s life, as part of the Library of Religious Biography series.
Separates Sunday‘s evangelistic career into four sections: beginnings, rise, prominence,
and decline. One chapter is devoted exclusively to Sunday‘s legacy. Includes the
sermons ―Heaven,‖ and ―Get on the Water Wagon.‖
Ellis, William T. "Billy" Sunday: The Man and His Message. Philadelphia, PA: Lee T. Myers,
1914.
Written by the authorization of Sunday at the prime of his evangelistic career, this 432
page work covers the life of Sunday with the majority of the text focusing on Sunday‘s
evangelistic messages, quoting large sections and complete texts of Sunday‘s sermons.
Sermons are not indexed or included as appendixes.
Firstenberger, William A. In Rare Form: A Pictorial History of Baseball Evangelist Billy
Sunday. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 2005.
Covers Sunday‘s life by weaving in pictures of Sunday‘s life and pictures of significant
items from his life located in the Sunday museum. Includes a list of revivals and
appearances, conversions, evangelistic team members, and family genealogy.
Billy Sunday Annotated Bibliographic Guide - 8
Frankenberg, Theodore T. Billy Sunday: His Tabernacles and Sawdust Trails. Columbus, OH: F.
J. Heer Printing Co., 1917.
A revised, extended, and brought up to date (1917) edition of Frankenberg‘s earlier work
The Spectacular Career of Rev. Billy Sunday: Famous Baseball Evangelist (see below).
Additional chapters include details of his ―metropolitan campaigns‖ from 1913 to 1917,
and his stand for prohibition. Includes data of various minor campaigns, and the sermon
―Booze.‖
———. The Spectacular Career of Rev. Billy Sunday: Famous Baseball Evangelist. Columbus,
OH: McClelland & Co., 1913.
The first comprehensive biography of Sunday details his childhood, baseball career, and
campaigns to original publication date. Provides campaign statistics, chapters on
Sunday‘s evangelistic philosophies, his assistants, and the ―Gladden-Sunday
Controversy.‖ Includes a forward by J. Wilbur Chapman and a chapter of quotations.
Knickerbocker, Wendy. Sunday at the Ballpark: Billy Sunday's Professional Baseball Career,
1883-1890. Edited by David B. Biesel, American Sports History Series. Lanham, MD:
Scarecrow Press, 2000.
A critical treatment of Sunday‘s baseball career, part of the American Sports History
Series. Covers American and baseball culture of the late nineteenth century, Sunday‘s
baseball career, and key events of Sunday‘s life during his career, including his
conversion to Christianity and marriage to Helen Amelia Thompson.
Lockerbie, D. Bruce. Billy Sunday. Waco, TX: Word Books, 1965.
A 64 page noncritical treatment of Sunday‘s life, with over 100 photographs. While
covering Sunday‘s whole life, focuses on the rise of his evangelistic career, his major city
campaigns, and his unique characteristics. Includes a collection of Sunday quotes, along
with the sermon ―Booze.‖
Martin, Robert F. Hero of the Heartland: Billy Sunday and the Transformation of American
Society, 1862-1935. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2002.
A critical treatment of Sunday‘s life, examining how the work of the evangelist was a
reflection of the American culture shift from a rural agricultural existence to an urban
industrial one. While covering Sunday‘s life and baseball and evangelistic careers, two
later chapters are devoted to masculine Christianity and Progressive Era religion.
McLoughlin Jr., William G. Billy Sunday Was His Real Name. Chicago: University of Chicago
Press, 1955.
Billy Sunday Annotated Bibliographic Guide - 9
The first critical biography of Sunday after his death. McLoughin‘s work examines
Sunday‘s life through numerous interviews including ―Ma‖ Sunday and Homer
Rodeheaver, and is the first work to make extensive use of the Sunday Papers. Includes a
prologue narrating the 1917 New York campaign, the peak of Sunday‘s career.
Rodeheaver, Homer. Twenty Years with Billy Sunday. Winona Lake, IN: Rodeheaver HallMack Co., 1936.
Written shortly after Sunday‘s death, the evangelistic career memoirs of his song leader
Homer ―Rhody‖ Rodeheaver, recounting Sunday‘s personality and characteristics.
Several chapters detail Rodheaver‘s views on the musical aspects of mass evangelism
through his experience with Sunday.
Sunday, William A. The Sawdust Trail: Billy Sunday in His Own Words. Iowa City:
University of Iowa Press, 2005.
Sunday‘s authobiography written toward the end of his life, originally published in six
issues of Ladies Home Journal from September 1932 to April 1933. Sunday emphasizes
his earlier days and provides less detail to his evangelistic career. Includes an 18 page
forward by Sunday biographer Robert F. Martin.
Thomas, Lee. Billy I. Van Nuys, CA: Son-Rise Books, 1974.
The sequel to Thomas‘ earlier work The Billy Sunday Story (see below). The front cover
has shadows of Billy Sunday and Billy Graham in famous preaching positions, displaying
―the first Billy‖ as the forerunner to the evangelistic crusades of Graham. Less critical
work than Thomas‘ first work covering the life and message of Sunday.
———. The Billy Sunday Story: The Life and Times of William Ashley Sunday, D.D. Grand
Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1961.
A non-critical biography of Sunday‘s life written by and for an Evangelical audience.
Each chapter title includes a Bible verse in parenthesis. Thomas interviewed ―Ma‖
Sunday for this work shortly before her death. Includes a listing of Sunday quotes and
several sermons.
Wright, Melton. Giant for God: A Biography of the Life of William Ashley ("Billy") Sunday.
Boyce, VA: Carr Publishing Co., 1951.
A non-critical biography of Sunday‘s life, focusing on his evangelistic career, particularly
his characteristics and character. One chapter details song leader Homer Rodheaver.
Includes a forward by Billy Graham‘s song leader Cliff Barrows, and a collection of
Sunday quotes.
Dissertations and Theses
Billy Sunday Annotated Bibliographic Guide - 10
Anderson, Daniel L. ―The Gospel According to Sunday.‖ ThD thesis, Dallas Theological
Seminary, 1979.
Using the 121 sermon manuscripts (stenographer‘s record) of the 1917 New York
campaign, Anderson reconstructed Sunday‘s gospel, and concludes that it is orthodox in
its basic ingredients.
Arcuri, Robert J. ―A Rhetorical Analysis of Billy Sunday‘s Role in the Progressive Movement in
American History.‖ MA thesis, University of Georgia, 1974.
Examines sermons, newspapers, texts, and other sources to piece together the issues,
arguments, and persuasive appeals employed by Sunday, and his relation to the overall
Progressive Era and how one influenced the other.
Backstrom, David A. ―An Analysis of the Elements of Persuasion Used by Billy Sunday in the
Monmouth, Illinois, Evangelistic Campaign.‖ MS thesis, University of Wisconsin,
1958.
Analyzes the elements of persuasion used by Billy Sunday in his Monmouth, Illinois
campaign, including an exposition and appraisal of the background, setting and audience,
Sunday himself, his preparation and presentation of the sermons involved, and an
evaluation of the entire campaign.
Bentson, Henry A. ―A Psychological Study of a ‗Billy‘ Sunday Revival.‖ MA thesis, Columbia
University, 1916.
A psychological analysis of the 1915 Paterson, New Jersey campaign, where the writer
personally observed the revival over one week, listening to Sunday speak, interviewing
trail-hitters, and comparing this event with similar social movements.
Bieber, Gerald W. ―Billy Sunday: A Study of His Message During the Second Decade of the
Twentieth Century, and the Means He Used to Persuade His Audiences.‖ PhD diss.,
University of Minnesota, 1968.
Analyzes Sunday‘s preaching during the second decade of the Twentieth Century,
defining Sunday‘s basic propositions of what he sought people to believe or do, his
theology and what it meant for his audience, his means of persuasion, and his
effectiveness as a speaker.
Burgeson, Paul R. ―Revivalism and Billy Sunday.‖ Term paper, Hamma School of Theology,
1964.
Sketches out revivalism and discusses the life, method, message, and various appraisals
of Billy Sunday.
Burk, Roger W. ―As a Man Believeth.‖ MDiv thesis, Huntington College Theological
Billy Sunday Annotated Bibliographic Guide - 11
Seminary, 1971.
An overview and evaluation of the lives and works of D.L. Moody and Sunday,
determining the distinctive aspects of ―the individual theologies of the work of
evangelism‖ of both men, and how their theologies effected their method and results in
their evangelistic careers.
Cawthon, Mary Margaret. ―A Descriptive Analysis of the Homiletical Career of William A.
(Billy) Sunday.‖ MA thesis, Auburn University, 1965.
The homiletical career of Sunday is described and discussed by investigating the content
of his sermons, studying his style and delivery, and exploring his over-all effectiveness.
The thesis argues that Sunday‘s actual success was short-lived, and concludes that he was
―the most successful failure the world has ever known.‖
Colman, David F. ―The Sermonic Style of Billy Sunday in the Detroit Campaign of 1916.‖
MA thesis, Indiana University, 1984.
Analyzes Sunday‘s sermons in the Detroit campaign of 1916, examining Sunday as a
person, his preparation, and his procedures. Six sermons were examined, three followed
by a ‗high response‘ and three by a ‗low response,‘ to view the audiences response by
different appeals.
Cox, Felix. ―Billy Sunday, Evangelist and Entertainer: The Use of Consumer Culture in
Evangelism.‖ MM thesis, Yale University, 1994.
Examines the evangelistic career of Sunday and his use of commercial and entertainment
techniques in his campaigns, gauging their effectiveness and/or limitations to his
evangelistic success, and the nature of this success.
Ditto, Thomas W. ―Billy Sunday in Ohio.‖ MA thesis, University of Cincinnati, 1959
An evaluation of the Ohio campaigns of Sunday, examining him through his life,
campaign preparations, his Ohio campaigns, and results, opinions, and evaluations of
these campaigns. The first chapter provides a survey history of American revivalism up
to Sunday.
Evans, Walter H. ―The Psychological Aspects of Sundayism.‖ MA thesis, Clark University,
1917.
Mainly focusing on the Boston campaign of 1916, looks into the methods Sunday used in
conducting campaigns, notes the psychology of his procedure, and compares Sunday‘s
Christianity to the contemporary American view of the time (1917).
Firstenberger, William A. ―Materials of an Anti-Materialist: An Interpretation of the Baseball
Evangelist, Billy Sunday, through an Examination of Material Culture at His Home in
Billy Sunday Annotated Bibliographic Guide - 12
Winona Lake, Indiana.‖ MA thesis, Indiana University, 2000.
The curator of the Billy Sunday Historic Site provides a material culture interpretation of
Sunday through an examination of the surroundings, structure, and contents of his
Winona Lake, Indiana home. The appendix provides photographs and descriptions of
many of Sunday‘s personal items.
Fox, Ellent M. ―The Music of Billy Sunday's Revivals.‖ MA thesis, Eastern Michigan
University, 1977.
Describes the music used in Sunday‘s campaigns lead by Homer Rodeheaver,
documenting the influence and use of popular idioms in the music of the campaigns.
Examines Sunday and Rodeheaver in depth, followed by an analysis of campaign music.
Gaerte, Douglas M. ―Justifying Social and Political Involvement: A Case Study in the Rhetoric
of Billy Sunday.‖ MA thesis, Indiana University, 1987.
Through a critical examination of Sunday‘s sermons, investigates arguments used by
politically active Christian leaders to justify their involvement beyond spiritual or
religious matters, specifically Sunday‘s various appeals to engage his listeners to political
activity.
Hilgendorf, Maynard D. ―Billy Sunday: "I Am Glad I Came to Detroit," a Study of Rhetorical
Strategies of the 1916 Campaign.‖ PhD diss., University of Michigan, 1985.
Analyzes the rhetorical strategies Sunday applied in the Detroit campaign of 1916, and
examines the distinctive elements to the Detroit campaign (such as the Michigan
prohibition referendum) and how these elements impacted later campaigns.
Kang, Sung Ho. ―Major Vocational Evangelists from Charles Finney to Billy Sunday and their
Development of Methods for Urban Mass Evangelism.‖ ThM thesis, Southwestern
Baptist Theological Seminary, 1997.
Focuses on how the evangelists Charles Finney, D.L. Moody, J. Wilbur Chapman, and
Sunday affected spiritual awakening, how they worked successful campaigns in urban
society, and the principles of their work.
LaPanta, Gregory J. ―An Analysis of the Use of Emotional Appeal in Selected Sermons of Billy
Sunday.‖ MA thesis, Mankato State College, 1967.
Investigates the methods of emotional appeal used by Sunday in the five sermons from
the peak of his career: ―Booze,‖ ―The Moral Leper,‖ ―Wonderful,‖ ―The Three Groups,‖
and ―Heaven.‖ Uses the Aristotelian principles concerning the use of emotion to show
the nature and extent of Sunday‘s use of emotional appeal.
Maxson, Richard A. ―Billy Sunday's 1917 New York City Revival: A Case Study in Apocalyptic
Billy Sunday Annotated Bibliographic Guide - 13
Rhetoric.‖ PhD diss., Indiana University, 1998.
Applying the theory of ‗apocalyptic rhetoric‘ with the 1917 New York campaign, shows
how the context, promotional materials, music, and sermons combined to form an
eschatological worldview serving both religious and political ends.
Nix, Preston L. ―A Critical Analysis of the Organizational Methodology in Selected Evangelistic
Campaigns of William (Billy) Sunday.‖ PhD diss., Southwestern Baptist Theological
Seminary, 1992.
Analyzes the organizational methodology that Sunday employed in conducting his
evangelistic campaigns and assesses the effect that it had upon the success of his work in
the cities in which he held campaigns. This thesis focuses on the Spokane, Wichita,
Philadelphia, New York, Atlanta, and Fort Worth campaigns.
Price, Michael R. ―Revival Methodology in the Advance Work of Billy Sunday.‖ ThM thesis,
Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 1984.
Focusing on Sunday‘s campaigns preparation work from initial acceptance until the first
sermon, identifies and critiques the revival methodology that Sunday incorporated in
preparing for his evangelistic campaigns. Contains biographical sketches of the complete
Sunday party.
Simmons, Thomas W. ―A Comparative Analysis of the Logical Modes of Persuasion Used
by Billy Graham and Billy Sunday in Selected Sermons of Their New York Crusades.‖
MA thesis, Kansas State University, 1968.
Investigates how the New York campaigns of Sunday and Billy Graham used the logical
mode of persuasion in convincing individuals to conversion to Christianity. Examines
Sunday‘s 1917 New York campaign and Billy Graham‘s 1957 New York evangelistic
crusade.
Swabb, L. Joel. ―A Rhetorical Study Based on Aristotelian Principles of Selected Temperance
Sermons Delivered by William Ashley Sunday, 1911-1932.‖ MA thesis, The
Ohio State University, 1964.
Assesses and evaluates the various temperance addresses of Sunday with using the
Aristotelian principles of rhetoric. Includes as an appendix the sermons ―A Few Remarks
on Booze,‖ and ―Hot Cakes off the Griddle.‖
Wiggins, Charles Jonathon. ―Sunday and Schuller: Bringing American Church History into the
Life of a Local Congregation.‖ DMin diss., Drew University, 1992.
Examines the place of church history in mobilizing the people of God and in the life of a
congregation through the production of a six part series on Sunday and Robert Schuller
Billy Sunday Annotated Bibliographic Guide - 14
held at the Westminster Church in Berkeley Heights, New Jersey. Wiggins, while pastor
of Westminster church, preformed as Sunday in a one-act play part as part of this series.
Wilson, Wendy A. Danforth. ―The Theatricality of Revivalism as Exemplified in the Artistry of
Billy Sunday and Aimee Semple McPherson.‖ MA thesis, University of Oregon, 1974.
Isolates, identifies, and describes particular techniques used by Sunday and Foursquare
Gospel evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson which relate to theatre.
Winghart, Thomas J. ―Billy Sunday: His Rise to Evangelism.‖ MA thesis, Northwest Missouri
State University, 1998.
Examines the rise of Sunday through his baseball career and rise to prominence as an
evangelist and national speaker, and his role in the spread of evangelism in American
society. Elaborates on his influence on later evangelists of the twentieth century.