Billy Sunday

No, Billy Sunday was not from Garner. But, he did do something IN Garner.

Billy Sunday was an orphan born near Ames, Iowa, in the year 1862. His father was killed in the Civil War when Billy was one month old. At the age of 12 he was sent to an orphan home.

During his high school years and after graduation in 1881, he gained fame playing baseball. He played professional baseball with the Chicago White Sox for seven years. He was the first ball player to run the bases in 14 seconds. He held records for the most stolen bases.But he chose to leave his well-paying baseball career to begin life as a preacher. He felt badly about the way he had lived, and wanted to encourage others to follow Jesus Christ. He became incredibly famous as an international preacher and evangelist. It was estimated that 80 million people came to hear him speak during his lifetime.

So what does that have to do with Garner? Guess where he preached his very first sermon? Yep. In Garner. At the Opera House. And yes, Garner had an opera house, too. Pretty cool.