1914. The Life and Work of Reverend William Ashley Sunday The Baseball Evangelist. Illustrated. The life of Billy Sunday by Brown who was at one time his confidential assistant. Sunday was an American evangelist born in Iowa and, before being saved, was a professional baseball player in the National League. A central theme of his campaigns was the use of alcohol. From the Introductory: The making of this book has not been undertaken as a defense of Mr. Sunday, for he needs none; the Master whom he so energetically serves having put His seal upon his labors in a way that the whole continent has been compelled to take note of. But the book is put into the hand of the reader with the hope and the prayer that through it he may come to know the real Billy Sunday, and learn how wondrously the Lord of Host is using him.