The Israelite House of David was founded in 1903, as a religious colony in Benton Harbor, Michigan. An entrepreneurial group of worshippers, the colony contributed much to the community, including a traveling baseball team that toured the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The almost 200 images collected here by authors Joel Hawkins and Terry Bertolino document the history of this bearded, barnstorming group of baseball players throughout their careers. The colony accomplished much within the community, credited with inventing the automatic pinsetter used in bowling and the first cold storage facility in the county. However, it was the House of David baseball players that caught the nation's attention, with their long hair and beards, which was forbidden to be cut or shaved as a code of their faith. As news of their prowess spread, the team received more and more press throughout the country. Much like the Negro Leagues of the same period, the House of David baseball players would criss-cross the country, playing with such greats as the Kansas City Monarchs, Pittsburg Crawfords, and Satchel Paige and his All Stars.

House of David barnstorming baseball (1915-1957) was played without pre-determined schedules, leagues, player statistics or standings. The Davids quickly gained popularity for their hirsute appearance and flashy, fast-paced style of play. During their 200 seasons, they travelled as many as 30,000 miles, criss-crossing the United States, Canada and Mexico. The Benton Harbor teams invented the pepper game and were winners year after year, becoming legends in barnstorming baseball. Initially a loose affiliation of players, the Davids expanded to three teams--Western, Central and Eastern--as their reputation grew, and hired outsiders to fill the rosters. Prominent among them were pitchers Grover Cleveland Alexander and Charlie "Chief" Bender, both player managers in the early 1930s. They resisted the color barrier, eagerly facing Negro League teams everywhere. In 1934, before their largest crowd to date, they defeated the first Negro team invited to the famed Denver Post Tournament, the great Kansas City Monarchs, for the championship.

In 1903, Benjamin Purnell, a long-haired, bearded itinerant preacher, arrived in Benton Harbor. He and his wife, Mary, stepped out of their covered preacher's wagon, and gazing across a thriving summer resort, they saw their long-awaited paradise. Acquiring this paradise, they established a religious colony called the House of David, which grew to over 1,000 members from around the world, with phenomenal talents in music, sports, entertainment, and architecture. A pre-Disneyland-type amusement park was constructed, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors annually. As the colony's leader, the very charismatic and convincing Purnell called himself a brother to Jesus, and members flocked in, handing over their homes, wealth, and worldly possessions for the promise of everlasting life, creating huge wealth. Soon they built exquisite mansions, hotels, restaurants, cruise ships, factories, and miniature railroads. Holdings included diamond and gold mines, an island in Lake Michigan, thousands of acres of farmland, an Australian resort, an art studio, orchestras, vaudeville acts, a famous bearded baseball team, and more. This book will take readers on the fascinating journey of the House of David.

After identifying early conflicts between churches and baseball in the late-nineteenth century, Price examines the appropriation of baseball by the House of David, an early twentieth-century millennial Protestant community in southern Michigan. Turning then from historic intersections between baseball and religion, two chapters focus on the ways that baseball reelects religious myths. First, the omphalos myth about the origin and ordering of the world is reflected in the rituals and rules of the game. Then the myth of curses is explored in the culture of superstition that underlies the game. At the heart of the book is a sustained argument about how baseball functions as an American civil religion, affirming and sanctifying American identity, especially during periods of national crises such as wars and terrorist attacks. Building on this analysis of baseball as an America's civil religion, two chapters draw upon novels by W. P. Kinsella and David James Duncan to explore the sacramental potential of baseball and to align baseball with apocalyptic possibilities. The final chapter serves as a full confession, interpreting baseball affiliation stories as conversion narratives. In various ways

House of David barnstorming baseball (1915-1957) was played without pre-determined schedules, leagues, player statistics or standings. The Davids quickly gained popularity for their hirsute appearance and flashy, fast-paced style of play. During their 200 seasons, they travelled as many as 30,000 miles, criss-crossing the United States, Canada and Mexico. The Benton Harbor teams invented the pepper game and were winners year after year, becoming legends in barnstorming baseball. Initially a loose affiliation of players, the Davids expanded to three teams--Western, Central and Eastern--as their reputation grew, and hired outsiders to fill the rosters. Prominent among them were pitchers Grover Cleveland Alexander and Charlie "Chief" Bender, both player managers in the early 1930s. They resisted the color barrier, eagerly facing Negro League teams everywhere. In 1934, before their largest crowd to date, they defeated the first Negro team invited to the famed Denver Post Tournament, the great Kansas City Monarchs, for the championship.

The Israelite House of David was founded in 1903, as a religious colony in Benton Harbor, Michigan. An entrepreneurial group of worshippers, the colony contributed much to the community, including a traveling baseball team that toured the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The almost 200 images collected here by authors Joel Hawkins and Terry Bertolino document the history of this bearded, barnstorming group of baseball players throughout their careers. The colony accomplished much within the community, credited with inventing the automatic pinsetter used in bowling and the first cold storage facility in the county. However, it was the House of David baseball players that caught the nation's attention, with their long hair and beards, which was forbidden to be cut or shaved as a code of their faith. As news of their prowess spread, the team received more and more press throughout the country. Much like the Negro Leagues of the same period, the House of David baseball players would criss-cross the country, playing with such greats as the Kansas City Monarchs, Pittsburg Crawfords, and Satchel Paige and his All Stars.

"... McGimpsey displays erudition, clever insights and a knack for the wickedly funny wisecrack (several of which are aimed at his beloved, and beleaguered, Montreal Expos). Literary baseball may be a drastically over-analyzed subject, but, like an overachieving rookie, McGrimpsey produces a far better book on it than one would have ever thought possible." --Louis Jacobson, Washington Post "This is the most important critical book on baseball literature in many years." --Murray Sperber, author of Onward to Victory From Field of Dreams to The Natural, from baseball cards to highbrow fiction, this book explores the place of baseball in American popular culture.