The Israelite House of David was founded in 1903, as a religious colony in Benton Harbor, Michigan. An entrepreneurial group of worshippers, the colony contribu

House of David barnstorming baseball (1915-1957) was played without pre-determined schedules, leagues, player statistics or standings. The Davids quickly gained

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 w

After identifying early conflicts between churches and baseball in the late-nineteenth century, Price examines the appropriation of baseball by the House of Dav

"... McGimpsey displays erudition, clever insights and a knack for the wickedly funny wisecrack (several of which are aimed at his beloved, and beleaguered, Mon