$145.00 CAD
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Set of four items related to the House of David baseball team: 3 postcards and 1 cardboard and metal baseball game scorer from 1936
House of David Baseball Park Benton Harbor, Mich. #1
Image of a baseball game in progress. Full house, fans several rows deep along fence, Cars.
Labeled ‘House of David Baseball Park Benton Harbor, Mich.’
Damage UL corner front, same UR where stamp removed on back.
Post marked ‘BENTON HARBOR JUL 16 1932 MICH.’
Publisher ‘EDEN SPRINGS HOUSE OF DAVID BENTON HARBOR MICH U.S.A. Send for literature’
House of David Baseball Park Benton Harbor, Mich. #2
Two images. Top is of a row of parked cars, labeled ‘Touring Cars House of David’
Bottom is of a baseball game in progress. Full house, fans several rows deep along fence, Cars.
Labeled ‘House of David Baseball Park Benton Harbor, Mich.’
Unused
House of David baseball team
RPPC photo of the House of David baseball,. 11 players standing , one man sitting in front, possibly David Purnell?
Labeled ‘House of David Ball Team’
AZO photographic paper dates it to 1910-1930.
Unused.
Cardboard and metal baseball game scorer.
On the back is written the game is was used for: between the famous House of David team and one from Oneonta NY on June 24th 1936. The House of David traveling team ceased to exist in 1936.
Bit yellowed, light smudges.
3 ¼” x 2 ⅛”
The House of David (formally The Israelite House of David) is a religious society co-founded by Benjamin and Mary Purnell in Benton Harbor, Michigan, in March 1903.
Purnell was a sports enthusiast and encouraged the members of the Israelite Community to play sports, especially baseball, to build physical and spiritual discipline.
In 1913, the Israelite House of David began to play competitive baseball and by 1915, they were following a grueling schedule. The House of David became famous as a barnstorming baseball team which toured rural America from the 1920s through the 1950s, playing amateur and semi-pro teams in exhibition games. They were motivated by the need to make money for their families and colony back home and by the opportunity to share their beliefs. The team members wore long hair and beards as they played.
By the late 1920s, needing more skilled players, the House began hiring professionals, the most notable being Grover Cleveland Alexander, Satchel Paige, and Mordecai Brown. Some professional players grew their beards out to show respect towards the God of Israel, while others wore false beards. They were known for their skill and played against some of the greatest teams in the country. The House of David played against Major League, Minor League, independent and Negro League teams, with all the same spirit of competition and fair play. At one point, the community had three separate barnstorming teams touring the country, playing and evangelizing wherever they went. The House of David teams were famous for inventing "pepper" baseball tricks, along the lines of the fancy basketball moves of the Harlem Globetrotters.
