Lot # 2341: 1916 Billy Sunday "Worcester Night - Boston" Pin with Ribbon

Scarce ribbon pin capturing former Major League outfielder turned evangelist Billy Sunday. The pin (1.5 inches in diameter) features portrait images of Sunday and his wife, while the white silk ribbon reads "Worcester Night - Billy Sunday Tabernacle - Boston - December 9, 1916." Billy Sunday is one of the great nineteenth-century baseball figures whose fame transcends the sport. Sunday was a star with Anson's Chicago Nationals in 1886 when he met a group of evangelists from the Pacific Garden Mission in Chicago. The evangelists invited Billy to attend services, and soon after he became famous in the baseball community for his strong faith and moral lifestyle in a sport characterized by a culture of drinking, gambling, and hard living. He soon earned the nickname "The Evangelist." Following the 1890 season, Sunday left the game to pursue his true calling, earning less than twenty-five percent of the salary he could command on the baseball diamond. He soon became the most popular evangelist in America, and a great ambassador for the game of baseball. The pin displays a crack across the front, and the ribbon is lightly toned. In Fair to Good condition overall.