Steel Ball Run is named after this event, hosted by Steven Steel and the President of the United States, Funny Valentine. The idea of the Steel Ball Run was imagined both by Steven Steel and a young Lucy Pendleton at one point between 1884 and 1888. Listening to Steven's ramblings about organizing a long distance horse-ride, Lucy proposed that Steven made it a race across America instead with an enormous prize money. Steven first found the idea ridiculous, but talked about it anyway, which caught the attention of numerous sponsors ready to gamble on that huge event. At one point, Funny Valentine involved himself in the organization of the race, determining the journey with Joseph of Arimathea's map and secretly taking command over the whole event. It would then serve as a front for the sea