† Billy Sunday (Baby Bill) is a dead Male ♂ Asian elephant (Elephas maximus), , who died 1939-10-16 at Selig Zoo and Movie Studio (Griffith Park Zoo, Luna Park Zoo), in United States, .
The North American Regional Studbook lists this elephant with a Temporary Studbook Number, lacking "supporting documentation to validate their identity."
Billy Sunday (Baby Bill) was born wild 1907.
"For some reason he was named after a popular Evangelist of the day "Billy Sunday"."
Mr. Cauble had the following interesting and informative comments about Baby Bill and Hall in the January-February, 1962, Bandwagon. "Baby Bill was a spoiled brat, and he would not let anyone feed or care for him except one roughneck and myself. Bill was happy when one of us was near, but if we walked away he would carry on something awful! I sent Hall word about what trouble Bill was giving me and he sent word back to return Baby Bill and he would let me have any bull in the barn. When we arrived in Tupelo, Mississippi, we gave the railroad company a lot of grief. I wanted heated transportation for Bill and the rates were three times first class for elephants, crated or uncrated. As it was against the law for anyone to ride in the baggage car, they would not allow me to ride with my baby. They decided to crate him as they could not furnish a heated car for anything less than 300 pounds. I told them Baby Bill would not live through the night away from me, so they might as well knock Bill in the head and give me four thousand dollars. We kept them waiting eight hours wiring the big shots of the road, but finally they loaded Bill and me into the baggage car. I loaded milk, cheese and crackers for food, hay and blankets for bedding, and soon we were on our way and sound asleep." Mr. Cauble said he would never forget his arrival in Lancaster, Missouri. He continued, "It was eleven o'clock at night and cold as the devil, so you can imagine my surprise to see W. P. Hall, himself, at the station. He had his car and driver there and ordered me to turn Bill over to the boys and get into his car. It was hard for me to turn it down, but I persuaded him to let me stay with the baby until I had bedded him down in a warm, comfortable place. He handed me a quart of Yellow Stone liquor and said that he would see me the next morning."
At the auction of that show (Seils-Sterling ) in Milwaukee in September 1938 she became Louis Meitus property. The author was present when she (Lucy), Billy Sunday, and additional animals and equipment from Meitus were delivered to Zoo-park, (ex-Selig Zoo) Los Angeles, in 1940.
(The name Billy Sunday (Baby Bill) is already submitted into the link, just click on the link for relevant results)
