The religious sect that became baseball's answer to the Harlem Globetrotters
The House of David was an Adventist cult that banned alcohol, sex and shaving. But it also loved baseball – and its teams toured the country to enraptured crowds
The House of David baseball team, in Benton Harbor, Michigan, circa 1918. The group forbade their members to cut their hair or shave their beards. Photograph: Underwood Archives/Getty Images
Ryan Ferguson
Wednesday 21 September 2016 06.00 EDT
In recent years, extravagant facial hair has become increasingly popular in Major League Baseball. The fad likely began with the 2004 Red Sox, as Johnny Damon and other self-proclaimed idiots wore flowing manes in contrast to the clean-shaven Yankees, who they eventually toppled to win the pennant.
Since then, many players have gained attention for creative beards, with former Giants closer Brian Wilson perhaps the most famous. Yet while these modern exponents are perhaps more recognizable, the art of fine baseball beards can be traced back over a century, to the House of David, a virtuoso team of religious believers that toured the country for almost five decades. Theirs is a compelling tale.
The team represented a religious society co-founded by Benjamin and Mary Purnell in Benton Harbor, Michigan. The Israelite House of David, established by the married couple in March 1903, was an Adventist cult that sought to reunite the 12 tribes of Israel in anticipation of Jesus returning to Earth in the new millennium. Benjamin Purnell considered himself the seventh messenger from the Book of Revelation, and he created the commune as a hub for his work in this field.
With a zeal for preaching, Purnell recruited several hundred members quickly. The society lived a communal existence on a plot that eventually exceeded 1,000 acres. Members relinquished all possessions to Purnell, who outlawed sex, drugs, alcohol, tobacco, meat, and even shaving, in keeping with his staunch brand of millennialism.
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/sep/21/house-of-david-baseball-religious-sect
