November 24, 2025 • 10 mins
On this episode of Our American Stories, long before Jackie Robinson changed Major League Baseball, a group of long-haired ballplayers from a religious commune in Michigan stepped onto fields where others weren’t welcome. Formed at the House of David in Benton Harbor, the team barnstormed the country and played with anyone who loved the game, including talented Black players shut out of the majors.
Their mix of skill, humor, and conviction made them one of the most recognizable teams of their era, and their willingness to stand beside excluded athletes helped shift attitudes long before the MLB integrated. Chris Siriano shares how this unlikely team left its mark on the history of baseball and on the early fight for equality.
Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate)
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
This is our American stories, and one of the things
we've come to love is our stories about American history.
At the turn of the century, baseball was by far
the most popular sport in America and almost everyone was
participating it, including a religious colony in Benton Harbor, Michigan,
founded by an eccentric man named Ben Purnell called the
(00:33):
House of David. Here's our own Monte Montgomery with the
story of a baseball team of out guests that took
America by storm.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
Growing up in Barring County, Michigan, I always knew of
the House of David's existence, mostly due to the curiosity
they brought. But what I didn't now was that they
actually made a massive impact on the country outside of
Benton Harbor, and one of the ways they did that
was in baseball started as a way to deal with
teenage boys and their religious belief as a colony in celibacy.
(01:11):
Here's Chris Siriano, founder of the House of David Museum
in Saint Joe, Michigan, with more on that story.
Speaker 3 (01:21):
The House of David baseball team was started because Benjamin
loved baseball, and in nineteen fourteen, they had been going
for eleven years by then. Right, they have a lot
of teenage boys with a whole lot of pent up energy,
and they can't be with the opposite sex no way,
know how. They need something to do to get rid
(01:41):
of this energy. So he said, let's play some baseball.
They played all the local teams and they were good.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
But they weren't great yet until they managed to bring
in professional players from major league teams like the Cups.
Speaker 3 (02:00):
It all started with Paul Mooney.
Speaker 4 (02:03):
Uh. He was a.
Speaker 3 (02:05):
Superstar pitcher, long black hair, super super talented, and he
was recruited by the Cubs early on in the in
the mid teens, and he considered playing for the Cubs,
but he wouldn't cut his hair shaved, and it wasn't
that was their rule.
Speaker 4 (02:22):
The Major League's Major.
Speaker 3 (02:24):
League Baseball required people to be clean shaven back then,
and the House of David by the mid nineteen twenties,
they were considered world talents in baseball. They could beat
semi pros, They could beat the major league teams if
they had an opening, and they would play him, and
they did on many, many, many occasions. They could beat
(02:44):
the major league people. And they thought, you know what,
we want to be a part of that, and they
tried to join, and they were denied because they wouldn't
cut their whiskers off and cut their hair, and they
absolutely would not do that because their belief was that
man should be in the likeness of g and they
didn't believe they could ever ever shave, and they wouldn't
(03:04):
for just to be able to play baseball, so they barnstormed.
Barnstorming was a team that just takes off and travels
the country. They'll play college teams, semi pro teams, farm teams,
major league teams. They'll play anybody and everybody. They'll play
in your stadium or they'll play in your cow pasture.
Speaker 4 (03:27):
They ain't care if.
Speaker 3 (03:28):
You want to play baseball, let's go. That's what Barnstorming was.
They're storming the country. They're playing in.
Speaker 4 (03:35):
Farms, barns, anywhere. So when they were.
Speaker 3 (03:44):
Playing baseball, they had a good time, and they invented
that what they call the pepper game, which was worth
three guys. During a fifth inning stretch, three guys would
stand across from each other and throw the ball so
fast between the legs around their neck, behind their back.
They juggle it and all of a sudden, the ball
(04:06):
would disappear and the crowd would go silent. During all
that cheering that they were watching, they'd go totally silent
and wondering where the ball was.
Speaker 4 (04:13):
And then the house, one of.
Speaker 3 (04:14):
The House that David guys would pull his big beard
up and he'd have it stuck underneath his beard, and
the crowd would roar, and it was good stuff. And
so they mixed comedy with their talent and could beat
you while they made you laugh basically.
Speaker 2 (04:31):
But rejected from the MLB because of their differences. The
House of David instead played with others we'd been rejected
because of.
Speaker 3 (04:40):
Their own That's one of the coolest stories that there is,
in my opinion, is the fact that here's these long haired,
whiskered white guys from ben Hamer, Michigan, mastering baseball across
the country and during the time when they couldn't join
the major leagues because they wouldn't shame, the Negro teams
(05:02):
formed their own leagues because they couldn't join the major
leagues because they were black. And so those Negro league
teams invited the House of David to be a part
of them, which is a beautiful thing.
Speaker 2 (05:14):
A beautiful thing because their popularity helped lay the foundations
of equality for black baseball teams, years before black Americans
would be allowed to play in the MLB.
Speaker 3 (05:28):
And they teamed up with and the Lloyd told the
story the.
Speaker 2 (05:31):
Best Lloyd as in one of the House of David's
baseball enforcers.
Speaker 3 (05:38):
He told the story about how they would travel to
a town where they would on a Saturday and they'd
have a doubleheader scheduled and this town was known for
baseball wherever it was across America. And he said, Chris,
we would travel our team, our white house, a David
team in one bus, and we'd have the Negro team
(05:59):
in an other bus. And within fifty miles of the
main town, every little town was closed. Nobody was around.
It was like shut them down, like ghost towns. We
got to the place where we were playing ball, it
was like a ginormous festival going on, people in the
streets and music and thousands of people everywhere waiting for
(06:22):
this game to happen. And he said, we'd show up early,
very early, and we'd put on a show.
Speaker 4 (06:29):
And here we are.
Speaker 3 (06:30):
We know we're the draw, We're the reason those people
are coming to that town that days I watched the
House of David play, so he said, we would make
them laugh. We would stand in front of the barber
shop windows with our long hair and wave it around
and play music and braid our whiskers in front of
the barber shop and dance in the streets. And they
(06:51):
were all musicians too, so they would play music in
their fiddles and their banjos and sing and just get
the whole town really energized. He said, we'd go early,
very early to the manager's office at the stadium where
we were playing and wed. And he said it was
himself and his father, Hans Doallagher, who was a driver
(07:13):
for the team but he also wore a uniform, and
Frank Wiland, who was a professional boxer and wore a
uniform but mainly a bodyguard for the team.
Speaker 4 (07:24):
But he looked like a player.
Speaker 3 (07:25):
Big guy, And he said, Chris, we'd walk in and
now these are scrappy looking guys, a lot of whiskers,
a lot of long hair, big wool uniforms, probably dirt
all over him from playing so many days with no
shower or laundry. And we'd stand in this manager's baseball
office and say mister manager, you know, we're so happy
(07:47):
to be here. We're so excited that your town is
just packed full of people, and we're going to make
you proud today that we came to your town.
Speaker 4 (07:56):
But sir, here's one thing.
Speaker 3 (07:59):
Before you play us at the eleven o'clock game this morning,
you're going to play the Kansas City Monarchs or the
Homestead Grays, or the Negro team that's on our other
bus right outside of your town, and they're waiting to play,
and you have to make that work because you've never
even allowed them in your stadium before today. And not
(08:21):
only that, but after the game, we're going to play
you the second game, and then tonight we're going to
Both teams are going to eat in the restaurants that
you didn't allow them to go in, and we've rented
rooms for both teams at the hotel that they never
have been able to stay at before.
Speaker 4 (08:39):
And here's the deal, sir.
Speaker 3 (08:40):
If you can't get that approved, if we can't make
that happen, that's okay, because right past your town, there's
another town sitting on raincheck excited.
Speaker 4 (08:51):
That we might be there to play their team today.
Speaker 3 (08:55):
So if you can't do that, it's okay, we'll just
go on, and he said, Chris, it was total silence
in that room, or a clipboard would fly, or the
guy would slam his desk. But he said, every time,
guess what, they would say something to the effect of okay,
House of David. They'd come back in the room and
(09:17):
you know, we'll agree to what you want today. We'll
do this, but don't you ever expect to come back
to this town again after today. And they say, you know,
he said, we'd stand at attention, we say thank you,
thank you, sir.
Speaker 4 (09:30):
We'll make you proud. And he said, guess what.
Speaker 3 (09:34):
When those Negro teams hit the field, they were unbelievable.
They were so talented, so funny. They'd love to make
people laugh, just like the House of David and more.
And there was standing ovations the whole game. And he said,
by the time we got up there, it was like
the fourth of July. Those people were so pumped up
(09:55):
they would lighten off fireworks during fifth inning stretch.
Speaker 4 (09:59):
It was a amazing, he said.
Speaker 3 (10:01):
When we went to the restaurants, we left big tips
for both teams, and in the hotel they treated us
like kings.
Speaker 4 (10:09):
And guess what, the next year we both.
Speaker 3 (10:12):
Got invited back, and we did that town after town
after town across America, long before Jackie Robinson hit the majors.
Speaker 1 (10:23):
A special thanks to Chris Siano, curator of the House
of David Museum, also the founder. In my goodness, it
sounds a lot like what the Hollan Globe Trotters are
doing with basketball, barn storming the country, challenging guys to
play a great sports story. The House of David's story
Here on our American Stories
This is our American stories, and one of the things
we've come to love is our stories about American history.
At the turn of the century, baseball was by far
the most popular sport in America and almost everyone was
participating it, including a religious colony in Benton Harbor, Michigan,
founded by an eccentric man named Ben Purnell called the
(00:33):
House of David. Here's our own Monte Montgomery with the
story of a baseball team of out guests that took
America by storm.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
Growing up in Barring County, Michigan, I always knew of
the House of David's existence, mostly due to the curiosity
they brought. But what I didn't now was that they
actually made a massive impact on the country outside of
Benton Harbor, and one of the ways they did that
was in baseball started as a way to deal with
teenage boys and their religious belief as a colony in celibacy.
(01:11):
Here's Chris Siriano, founder of the House of David Museum
in Saint Joe, Michigan, with more on that story.
Speaker 3 (01:21):
The House of David baseball team was started because Benjamin
loved baseball, and in nineteen fourteen, they had been going
for eleven years by then. Right, they have a lot
of teenage boys with a whole lot of pent up energy,
and they can't be with the opposite sex no way,
know how. They need something to do to get rid
(01:41):
of this energy. So he said, let's play some baseball.
They played all the local teams and they were good.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
But they weren't great yet until they managed to bring
in professional players from major league teams like the Cups.
Speaker 3 (02:00):
It all started with Paul Mooney.
Speaker 4 (02:03):
Uh. He was a.
Speaker 3 (02:05):
Superstar pitcher, long black hair, super super talented, and he
was recruited by the Cubs early on in the in
the mid teens, and he considered playing for the Cubs,
but he wouldn't cut his hair shaved, and it wasn't
that was their rule.
Speaker 4 (02:22):
The Major League's Major.
Speaker 3 (02:24):
League Baseball required people to be clean shaven back then,
and the House of David by the mid nineteen twenties,
they were considered world talents in baseball. They could beat
semi pros, They could beat the major league teams if
they had an opening, and they would play him, and
they did on many, many, many occasions. They could beat
(02:44):
the major league people. And they thought, you know what,
we want to be a part of that, and they
tried to join, and they were denied because they wouldn't
cut their whiskers off and cut their hair, and they
absolutely would not do that because their belief was that
man should be in the likeness of g and they
didn't believe they could ever ever shave, and they wouldn't
(03:04):
for just to be able to play baseball, so they barnstormed.
Barnstorming was a team that just takes off and travels
the country. They'll play college teams, semi pro teams, farm teams,
major league teams. They'll play anybody and everybody. They'll play
in your stadium or they'll play in your cow pasture.
Speaker 4 (03:27):
They ain't care if.
Speaker 3 (03:28):
You want to play baseball, let's go. That's what Barnstorming was.
They're storming the country. They're playing in.
Speaker 4 (03:35):
Farms, barns, anywhere. So when they were.
Speaker 3 (03:44):
Playing baseball, they had a good time, and they invented
that what they call the pepper game, which was worth
three guys. During a fifth inning stretch, three guys would
stand across from each other and throw the ball so
fast between the legs around their neck, behind their back.
They juggle it and all of a sudden, the ball
(04:06):
would disappear and the crowd would go silent. During all
that cheering that they were watching, they'd go totally silent
and wondering where the ball was.
Speaker 4 (04:13):
And then the house, one of.
Speaker 3 (04:14):
The House that David guys would pull his big beard
up and he'd have it stuck underneath his beard, and
the crowd would roar, and it was good stuff. And
so they mixed comedy with their talent and could beat
you while they made you laugh basically.
Speaker 2 (04:31):
But rejected from the MLB because of their differences. The
House of David instead played with others we'd been rejected
because of.
Speaker 3 (04:40):
Their own That's one of the coolest stories that there is,
in my opinion, is the fact that here's these long haired,
whiskered white guys from ben Hamer, Michigan, mastering baseball across
the country and during the time when they couldn't join
the major leagues because they wouldn't shame, the Negro teams
(05:02):
formed their own leagues because they couldn't join the major
leagues because they were black. And so those Negro league
teams invited the House of David to be a part
of them, which is a beautiful thing.
Speaker 2 (05:14):
A beautiful thing because their popularity helped lay the foundations
of equality for black baseball teams, years before black Americans
would be allowed to play in the MLB.
Speaker 3 (05:28):
And they teamed up with and the Lloyd told the
story the.
Speaker 2 (05:31):
Best Lloyd as in one of the House of David's
baseball enforcers.
Speaker 3 (05:38):
He told the story about how they would travel to
a town where they would on a Saturday and they'd
have a doubleheader scheduled and this town was known for
baseball wherever it was across America. And he said, Chris,
we would travel our team, our white house, a David
team in one bus, and we'd have the Negro team
(05:59):
in an other bus. And within fifty miles of the
main town, every little town was closed. Nobody was around.
It was like shut them down, like ghost towns. We
got to the place where we were playing ball, it
was like a ginormous festival going on, people in the
streets and music and thousands of people everywhere waiting for
(06:22):
this game to happen. And he said, we'd show up early,
very early, and we'd put on a show.
Speaker 4 (06:29):
And here we are.
Speaker 3 (06:30):
We know we're the draw, We're the reason those people
are coming to that town that days I watched the
House of David play, so he said, we would make
them laugh. We would stand in front of the barber
shop windows with our long hair and wave it around
and play music and braid our whiskers in front of
the barber shop and dance in the streets. And they
(06:51):
were all musicians too, so they would play music in
their fiddles and their banjos and sing and just get
the whole town really energized. He said, we'd go early,
very early to the manager's office at the stadium where
we were playing and wed. And he said it was
himself and his father, Hans Doallagher, who was a driver
(07:13):
for the team but he also wore a uniform, and
Frank Wiland, who was a professional boxer and wore a
uniform but mainly a bodyguard for the team.
Speaker 4 (07:24):
But he looked like a player.
Speaker 3 (07:25):
Big guy, And he said, Chris, we'd walk in and
now these are scrappy looking guys, a lot of whiskers,
a lot of long hair, big wool uniforms, probably dirt
all over him from playing so many days with no
shower or laundry. And we'd stand in this manager's baseball
office and say mister manager, you know, we're so happy
(07:47):
to be here. We're so excited that your town is
just packed full of people, and we're going to make
you proud today that we came to your town.
Speaker 4 (07:56):
But sir, here's one thing.
Speaker 3 (07:59):
Before you play us at the eleven o'clock game this morning,
you're going to play the Kansas City Monarchs or the
Homestead Grays, or the Negro team that's on our other
bus right outside of your town, and they're waiting to play,
and you have to make that work because you've never
even allowed them in your stadium before today. And not
(08:21):
only that, but after the game, we're going to play
you the second game, and then tonight we're going to
Both teams are going to eat in the restaurants that
you didn't allow them to go in, and we've rented
rooms for both teams at the hotel that they never
have been able to stay at before.
Speaker 4 (08:39):
And here's the deal, sir.
Speaker 3 (08:40):
If you can't get that approved, if we can't make
that happen, that's okay, because right past your town, there's
another town sitting on raincheck excited.
Speaker 4 (08:51):
That we might be there to play their team today.
Speaker 3 (08:55):
So if you can't do that, it's okay, we'll just
go on, and he said, Chris, it was total silence
in that room, or a clipboard would fly, or the
guy would slam his desk. But he said, every time,
guess what, they would say something to the effect of okay,
House of David. They'd come back in the room and
(09:17):
you know, we'll agree to what you want today. We'll
do this, but don't you ever expect to come back
to this town again after today. And they say, you know,
he said, we'd stand at attention, we say thank you,
thank you, sir.
Speaker 4 (09:30):
We'll make you proud. And he said, guess what.
Speaker 3 (09:34):
When those Negro teams hit the field, they were unbelievable.
They were so talented, so funny. They'd love to make
people laugh, just like the House of David and more.
And there was standing ovations the whole game. And he said,
by the time we got up there, it was like
the fourth of July. Those people were so pumped up
(09:55):
they would lighten off fireworks during fifth inning stretch.
Speaker 4 (09:59):
It was a amazing, he said.
Speaker 3 (10:01):
When we went to the restaurants, we left big tips
for both teams, and in the hotel they treated us
like kings.
Speaker 4 (10:09):
And guess what, the next year we both.
Speaker 3 (10:12):
Got invited back, and we did that town after town
after town across America, long before Jackie Robinson hit the majors.
Speaker 1 (10:23):
A special thanks to Chris Siano, curator of the House
of David Museum, also the founder. In my goodness, it
sounds a lot like what the Hollan Globe Trotters are
doing with basketball, barn storming the country, challenging guys to
play a great sports story. The House of David's story
Here on our American Stories
Host
Lee Habeeb
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.