House of David

Of the many stories my dad told me one that was repeated the most was about the colorful House of David Baseball team which he must have run into in the 30’s when he was still playing competitive baseball. Dad told me stories to teach lessons and I guess inspire my own stories, None were more colorful to my vision than a red-bearded group of ballplayers which he called the House of David. Now when he first told me this story when I was young there was no internet for me to glean facts about this bearded traveling baseball squad from Michigan who took their show on the road and became quite famous doing so. But dad brought the story to life. And of course he had a point doing it. When you have a team down, keep them down---because you never know what may happen. Such As what happened the day dad and his baseball team came to play the House of David. It was a glorious day as my dad retold the story. Bands were playing, tight out of the legend of Casey at the Bat and my dad was feeling pretty good about himself after lining a double which knocked in 2 runs. Later in the game, my dad slammed a homer which put his team up by 10 runs. His teammates were giddy. This House of David team was supposed to be good. This was good? And then came the lesson. It seemed like the House of David was just playing possum. Sure, they got behind 10 runs early. As the game reached the 5th inning, they had cut the lead to three. In their half of the 7th inning, the House rallied and took the lead for good. They won going away. My dad and his teammates were stunned. The House of David slapped them on their backs, opened the kegs of beer and made it a party. My dad never forgot the lesson. Years later, at a New York Yankee baseball camp, I heard Hank Bauer echo the same lesson. “Don’t feel too good about yourself.” Seems like Hank and the Yankees had come across the House as well as dad.