Book Review: The House of David Baseball Team

Book Review:
Images of America
The House of David Baseball Team
By Joel Hawkins and Terry Bertolino
Arcadia Publishing
p.128
$18.99 Cover Price

After reading this book I decided that have new favorite in Arcadia’s Images of America series. I have always had an interest in the story of the House of David and their legendary traveling teams that played in the heyday of minor league ball. Part of that interest was in the culture that was created by this religious group that led them to be innovators and entertainers far ahead of the pack. They formed one of the nation’s first real amusement parks (long before Disney - yet reputedly very similar), invented the sugar cone, and transformed the town of Benton Harbor, Michigan into a tourist destination with not only the amusement park but also, hotels, a zoo, an aviary, music of all sorts and of course baseball. Heavyweight Joe Louis, though barred from joining the religion because of his skin color, was a visitor and even a part of the culture using the House of David baseball park for the home of his Brown Bombers softball team.

Perhaps the defining feature as noticed by outsiders in regards to the House of David religious colony was that they did not believe in shaving or cutting their hair. So, they went out and played baseball with heads of hair that in many cases could only be called manes. Baseball seemed to be an integral part of the early life of the House of David and they played as a semi-pro or minor league team from 1914 until 1955 when they stopped fielding baseball and basketball teams.

When the average fan hears the term minor league or semi-pro they get the idea that the caliber of play was not up to major league standards. It might not have been - but it could be very close, and semi -pro is unfair because the players were professionals - just not in one of the two recognized Major Leagues. Many baseball experts think many of these “minor leagues” fielded better teams than those in the Majors.

The House of David (and later City of David) baseball teams competed not only against local teams, but also against the best teams from the Negro Leagues - Negro League teams did not seem to have any bias about playing with white players even though many white teams discriminated against them. One of the teams that they competed against included the Kansas City Monarchs, who where the equivalent of today’s Yankees (well the 1996-2000 Yankees anyway). They even played against several major league teams in exhibition games. In fact the House of David (or HOD) drew 9,000 fans to a night game at Sportsman’s Park in St. Louis against the Cardinals following a day game in which the Cardinals and Reds drew only 500 spectators.

That is just the kind of team they were. They often drew more spectators than the major league teams of their day did and they used a lot of gimmicks to bring in fans. On April 17, 1930 they played in what may very well have been the first night baseball game ever (although that distinction has also been attributed to the Homestead Greys and Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro Leagues). They also invented what became the pepper game - in which the fielders did a little razzle dazzle Harlem Globetrotteresque baseball demo, which seems somewhat fitting since the HOD basketball team played regularly with the Globetrotters. They also played a humorous game called “Donkey Ball” where all of the players were forced to play the game on “donkey back”.

Despite all of the gimmicks, what brought them the most publicity were of course their beards - and also the fact that they played a lot of night baseball (they traveled with lighting systems). However not all the players were bearded - the HOD also fielded a woman’s team which crushed their opponents in the women’s league - but that may also be attributed to the fact that six of the players were men in drag (presumably ones without facial hair). They also featured several outstanding female pitchers on their barnstorming teams including “Jackie” Mitchell, who at 17 was signed to an AA contract by the Chattanooga lookouts. In 1931 she pitched in an exhibition game against the Yankees as a reliever; only two batters into the game she struck out Babe Ruth in 4 pitches, then mowed down Lou Gehrig on three swinging strikes. Commissioner Landis voided her contract days later declaring that baseball was “too rough a sport for women.”

The book gives an outline that just whets the appetite in regards to knowledge of whom the House of David and City of David were. It talks briefly about the imitators (and there were many), false HOD teams, how the team eventually had as many as three traveling teams and the differences when factionalism split the religious colony in two.

During their glory days the HOD won many tournaments and beat opponents as good as they came. They fielded teams with players not only from their own colony, but they added others too. Some outside players important to them were Grover Alexander who played and managed, Chief Bender, and Satchel Paige.

The book suffers from all of the weaknesses inherent in such a project - there are many team photos with a monotonous listing of who’s who, and a large number of images that don’t contribute to the big picture though they give details about players themselves. This book is a better read than many of the others - perhaps because baseball in America is very mainstream and this group certainly was not. They had some great ballplayers -many of who were offered Major League contracts, but chose instead to play for their “home” team even though they were barnstormers.

This has been my favorite book in the series - but it is a different book. It’s not about the gloried or often read about and remembered teams from the history of MLB, it is about another group that played in its shadows. A group recognized by the national media as an extremely talented bunch of players that were not mainstream. If you want to read something different this is a very fun and interesting book and it easily deserves the three balls I’ll bestow on it.

(Author’s note: I still want to know a lot more about this subject so don’t be surprised if we have an article or two on the HOD at some point)

Our Rating System is based on a four ball system as follows:
One Ball: Average. It has something to say but is nothing special.
Two Balls: Something men usually have - also means its a cut above average, and worth reading/owning.
Three balls: Stands out from its peers and is highly recommended.
Four Balls: More than just what two men have when hanging out together, it means it is an exceptional book that truly earns a walk - straight to the local book store to get a copy.

At Home Plate

Book Review: The House of David Baseball Team