A 1924 promotional photo of the House of David baseball team, from the Israelite House of David, the Adventist sect based in Benton Harbor, Michigan. The photo was distributed to Midwest newspapers during the barnstorming team’s tour that season.
Promotional materials promised, “Some wonderful baseball players are on the House of David team,” including Jess Tally, “The bearded Babe Ruth.” And “Cookie Hannaford the phenomenal first sacker.” The team claimed Tally had hit 34 home runs in 132 games in 1923, and 11 through the team’s first 31 games of 1924.
Tally
Hannaford
The team always claimed that several members of the club, “Rejected major league jobs, refusing to clip their whiskers.”
Dick Jess, who had managed Babe Ruth’s 1921 barnstorming tour, was the promoter for the House of David tour, and described the team as:
“Bewhiskered, barberless, shaveless baseballists, and foes of the barber trust.”
Baseball History Daily 
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