This is the story of a religious cult that brought thousands of people to the American Midwest, the greatest Negro League pitcher of all time and a mystery that took 45 years to solve:
Phil Leece can’t remember exactly when he first learned about the game his father caught for Satchel Paige. It was the ’60s, and Phil was a kid living in Hamilton Dome, Wyoming.
But in his parents' basement, underneath the stairs, Phil found something that did even more to ignite his imagination. "He was a little spare on details, to be sure," Phil says."But he did always point out the fact that Satchel Paige threw with incredible velocity and that his hand had puffed up — you know, had swollen to about an inch thicker than its normal size."
"The House of David was formed by Benjamin and Mary Purnell," Chris says."They were from Paducah, Kentucky, and they traveled the Midwest as itinerant preachers in the 1890s in a covered wagon. He taught that he was the brother to Christ and the son of God and the Messiah." With very little to distract them from learning the game, the House of David baseball team, formed around 1914, got very good very quickly. In just a few years, they were being invited to play baseball all over North America.
Phil immediately went out and bought Larry Tye’s book. He hoped it would lead him to more details about that game his father caught for Satchel Paige — maybe even the box score. " ‘Mr. Manager, we're so happy to be here in your town, and we're excited and you're going to love us. But here's the deal, sir...’"
As Lloyd told Chris, every time, the baseball manager would come back and say that the Monarchs would be allowed to play, but that the House of David should never expect to be invited back again.
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