Page:America's National Game (1911).djvu/473

 as I ran and leaped those benches I said one of the swiftest prayers that was ever offered. It was: "Lord, if you ever helped a mortal man, help me get that ball."

"'I went over the benches as though wings were carrying me up. I threw out my hand while in the air and the ball struck and stuck. The game was ours. Though the deduction is hardly orthodox, I am sure the Lord helped me catch that ball, and it was my first great lesson in prayer.

"'Al Johnson, brother of the present Mayor of Cleveland, ran up to me and handed me a ten-dollar bill. "Buy a new hat, Bill," said he. "That catch won me $1,500."'"

The following news item, from the San Diego, Cal., Sun, 1911, seems to prove that Rev. "Billy" finds his evangelistic work garners financial returns as well as converts:

In point of dogma it is a far cry from the tenets of Evangelist Billy Sunday to those of Cardinal Gibbons, but since both are identified with Base Ball in their personal records, Billy as a player, and the Cardinal as a "fan," the placing of their names in juxtaposition here may not appear as an ecclesiastical inconsistency.

Some years ago the Baltimore team visited St. Charles College at Ellicott City, Md., where, in the presence of