That Time Billy Graham Packed Madison Square Garden and Yankee Stadium to the Brim

Reverend Billy Graham died on Wednesday at the age of 99. He was known for drawing massive crowds to hear his sermons for many decades. He preached in person to more than 210 million people over the course of his career, and some of his largest audiences were here in New York City.

Starting in 1957, Graham began booking Manhattan's largest venues. But while he drew thousands of people to Madison Square Garden each night he spoke, his service at Yankee Stadium on July 20, 1957 drew an even bigger crowd, in the tens of thousands. Folks started arriving that morning, and by the time things got going, about 85,000 people were stuffed into the stadium to hear him preach.

While introducing Graham to the audience, then-Vice President Richard Nixon joked that even the stadium's namesakes couldn't get as big a crowd as the reverend from North Carolina.

"One cannot stand as I do in the center of the baseball diamond as I do here at Yankee Stadium without thinking what this meeting means," Nixon said.

The Yankee Stadium sermon was the climax of Graham's time in New York, and on that day in the Bronx, he made sure his audience knew it.

About 85,000 people assembled to hear evangelist Billy Graham at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York, July 20, 1957.

(AP Photo)

"During the past few weeks, we've seen thousands of all walks of life as they moved out of those great stands at Madison Square Garden and come to stand on the lord's side by receiving Jesus Christ into their hearts and their lives," Graham said.

Originally, Graham intended to stay in New York for about a month before moving on. But he ended up extending his "crusade" for another two months.

"We planned to stay three or four weeks and didn’t think we could ever fill Madison Square Garden. And it was filled every night except two or three during 16 weeks," Graham told WNYC in 2005, before his last sermon at the venue.