Real Photo Postcard of the Israelite House of David Ball Players

Benton Harbor, MI, 1920. Single 3 ½ x 5 ½ inch real photo postcard, captioned “House of David Ball Players”. Some damage to lower left side, mainly not intersecting with subject.. The Israelite House of David is a millenarian religious group, formed in 1903 by Benjamin and Mary Purnell. Its members are abstinent and vegetarian, and in its earlier days the group lived self-sufficiently and communally – in addition to running Eden Springs, an amusement park with a restaurant, bowling alley, zoo, theater, and baseball field.[1] The House of David was known in the early 20th century as having one of the best barnstorming baseball teams in the country; they even hired professional players, including Virne Beatrice “Jackie” Mitchell in 1933.[2] Offered here is a real photo postcard of five players from the House of David team. Based on a similar photograph from the group’s website, this postcard likely dates from the early 1920s and shows “Cookie” Hannaford, “Dutch” Faust, “Zeke” Baushke, Andy Bell, and David Harrison.[3]

[1] “A Panoramic View From 1919”, Mary’s City of David, accessed February 3, 2025, https://www.maryscityofdavid.org/html/1919view.html.
[2] Jim Gates, “Giving the House a Home”, National Baseball Hall of Fame, accessed February 3, 2025, https://baseballhall.org/House-of-David-donation#.
[3] “‘Jesus’ Boys’ – Israelite House of David Baseball”, Mary’s City of David, accessed February 3, 2025, https://www.maryscityofdavid.org/html/baseball.html.