An all bearded baseball team that was one of the most winning-est baseball clubs in history?! Whaaa?
Well, it's true... last night, when watching Antique's Roadshow (FTW), some photographs went up for discussion which wound up being pretty valuable... about a hundred bucks a piece. It was a collection of old shots, promotional and otherwise, of a baseball team from the House of David... a Benton Harbor, Michigan colony where folks lived a communal life, a life of Christianity, vegetarianism, celibacy, and love for mankind... and beards. They were not to shave or cut their hair. Our ears perked up, and here we are.
The House of David Museum confirms:
Known the world over for their famous bearded baseball teams, the House of David was something America and the rest of the world had never seen the likes of before. These men traveled the country with their long hair and beards, heavy wool uniforms, and a truck full of laughter and talent. They went down in history for entertaining America with their uniqueness on the field, their absolute superb playing ability, their own invention of the Pepper Game (which was said to be worth the price of admission just to see these long haired players clowning around and hiding the ball under their beards), and their ability to break the color barrier as they traveled many years with the Negro League teams. As the team barnstormed across the continent, they picked up players like Satchel Page, Grover Cleveland Alexander, and even Babe Ruth for a short stint. For many years they won over 100 games in a season, and in 1929 they won 110 out of 165 games.
Later when Babe Ruth was at the (dreaded/evil/facial hairless) Yankees, the photo below came to be as a result of a skirmish the two teams had in 1931 during a game down in St. Petersburg, where he, just to be polite, donned fake beard and wore them through the game just to show how hirsute opponents feel at home... what a guy, almost enough to forget that curse you brought on Bean town... almost.
