They were a religious cult of vegetarian celibates who generated their own electricity, printed their own religious materials, ran an amusement park, churned their own ice cream and never shaved or cut their hair.

And they played a really good game of baseball.

From the 1920s through the 1940s, this unusual group of men traveled the country playing baseball against semiprofessional teams. And they won - 70 percent of their games.

In Scranton, where local baseball was a popular attraction, The Scranton Times announced on Aug. 25, 1920, that "baseball's biggest drawing card outside of the major leagues" would play at Athletic Park that Friday. The House of David team had been on tour for four months "and only last Saturday," The Times reported "a record-breaking crowd packed the National League field in Brooklyn to see the team play the Brooklyn Royal Giants."

In an era when the clean-shaven look was in, this bewhiskered team attracted "camera fiends, curiosity fanciers, and throngs of women and children, as well as regular baseball fans," according to the team's press sheet.

In addition to their looks, their on-field antics also drew fans. They developed the Pepper Game, which they usually performed in the middle of the fifth inning. Three players lined up approximately two feet apart. A fourth player acted as a batter and hit to the group. Each player had a repertoire of moves to perform - a behind-the-back toss, a fake throw to one of the others or a roll of the ball down their arms.

But they took their Christian beliefs seriously. In an era of racial segregation, the team traveled the country with teams from the Negro League, playing games, staying in motels and eating in restaurants with them.

The House of David was founded in 1903 in Benton Harbor, Mich., by husband and wife Mary and Benjamin Purnell. A dove had perched on his shoulder in 1895, Benjamin said, and had led him to Benton Harbor. Members believed the couple were the seventh messenger mentioned in the Book of Revelations. The Purnells preached that they would lead the gathering of 144,000 of the elect Sons of Israel.

In 1926, despite the goup's commitment to a celibate lifestyle, Benjamin Purnell was accused of "immoral acts" with two women members of the cult. In that era, such an accusation warranted a court trial, and the ailing Mr. Purnell was carried to his on a stretcher. He died before the trial ended. Mary Purnell died in 1953.

To most of the country, the cult was known for its long hair, beards and baseball - so much so that one team became two, and then three. By the late 1920s, the House of David had five ball teams on the road. Scranton was a regular stop.

In the spring of 1931, they traveled with their newly invented lighting system. In an era of unlit parks and day games, the House of David invented a portable lighting system that gave them yet another draw: night baseball.

In 1932, the team came to Scranton for a night game against Bob Shawkey's Miners at Brooks Field. The admission price was 40 cents for any seat in the park. Grover Cleveland "Old Pete" Alexander, a former major league ace pitcher, took the mound for three innings. From 1931 to 1935, a clean-shaven Alexander pitched for the House of David baseball club. Alexander won 373 games during a 20-year major league career, the third-highest total in major league history, and won 30 or more games during three consecutive seasons. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1938.

Several members of the House of David team had professional offers, but they refused to cut their hair. Instead, they continued to give their all to their team. As one sports editor once said, they were a novelty side show and good baseball, all under one tent.

SOURCES: houseofdavidmuseum.org and baseballhall.org.

CHERYL A. KASHUBA is a university instructor and author of "A Brief History of Scranton, Pennsylvania." Contact the writer: local history@ timesshamrock.com