House of David?

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Posted By: Clint

What's up with the House of David baseball teams? Who were they, when did they start, when did they quit, and how many teams did they have? Post any memorabilia you have as well.

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Posted By: Dan Bretta

They were a religious commune (cult?) in Michigan....the baseball team as near as I can tell from postcards is they started sometime in the 1920s...I don't think I've seen a postmark on any card from before the 1920s...and I know they were still around in the late 1940s because I have a newspaper with an advertisement for a game between the Negro League All Stars and the House of David at Sherman Field in Lincoln. Beyond that I don't know too much other than I've noticed prices on the postcards have fallen in the last couple of years.

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Posted By: J Levine

The House of David was not a cult originally. It was a religious (Jewish) communie (like a kibbutz) set up in Benton Harbor Michigan around 1905. The team was organized shortly thereafter (around 1915) and played local teams. Eventually they became good enough to barnstorm and take on other barnstorming teams incl. Negro League teams, Major and minor league teams, etc. They wore their hair long with beards as religion dictated. The House of David was eventually sued by the State of Michigan and the leader discredited in the 1920s. A rival House of David was set up across the street by his wife called the City of David. Both fielded teams but the House of David was by far the better. The teams and communes were done by the 1940s.

Joshua

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Posted By: Robert S

They were not Jewish. See this Web site from the guy who wrote the book on the group:

http://www.peppergame.com/myths.asp (this site has a ton of info and photos).

By the way, here are some more postcards of the team:









And here's Harry Heilmann umpiring a game between the HOD and the "Flying Dutchmen" --

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Posted By: Dan Bretta

It sounds like the HOD hit their stride about the time the Nebraska Indians faded away in the mid teens....I wonder if they ever played against one another? I can find no record of any games played by the NI in the 1920s, but they reappear in the 1930s for a couple of years.

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Posted By: Jeremy W.

Sometime in the early thirties Alexander played & pitched for them. I have a scorecard of the HOD vs. San Jose A's with Alexander listed as the pitcher.

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Posted By: Clint

Thanks for the information and photos guys. I've never heard the story before but have seen several of their postcards.