The Sedalia Goldbugs were a minor league baseball team based in

Sedalia, Missouri Sedalia is a city located approximately south of the Missouri River and, as the county seat of Pettis County, Missouri, United States, it is the principal city of the Sedalia Micropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 census, the city had ...

. Between 1904 and 1911, Sedalia teams played as a member of the

Missouri Valley League The Missouri Valley League was an American minor league baseball league which operated from 1901 through 1905. History The Missouri Valley league formed in 1901 as an Independent league. The league consisted of teams in Kansas and Missouri: Col ...

(1902–1904),

Western Association The Western Association was the name of five different leagues formed in American minor league baseball during the 19th and 20th centuries. The oldest league, originally established as the Northwestern League in 1883, was refounded as the Weste ...

(1905) and Missouri State League (1911), winning league championships in 1903 and 1911. Sedalia played as the Sedalia Cubs in 1911. Sedalia hosted minor league home games at Liberty Park Stadium.

History

Minor league baseball began in Sedalia, Missouri in 1902. The Sedalia Goldbugs were charter members of the eight–team Class D level

in 1902. In their first season of play, the 1902 Sedalia Gold Bugs finished with a record of 72–48, placing 4th in the Missouri Valley League. Sedalia played home games at Liberty Park in Sedalia. The Gold Bugs were managed by Joe Roe, RL Hawkins, George Allen and

Dave Fultz David Lewis Fultz (May 29, 1875 – October 29, 1959) was an American football and baseball player and coach. He played Major League Baseball as a center fielder in the National League with the Philadelphia Phillies (1898–1899) and Baltimore ...

. Sedalia was joined in the 1902 standings by the Coffeyville Indians/ Chanute Oilers (40–81), Fort Scott Giants (80–44), Iola Gasbags (34–90), Jefferson City Convicts (40–85),

Joplin Miners The Joplin Miners was the primary name of the minor league baseball team in Joplin, Missouri that played for 49 seasons between 1901 and 1954. Baseball Hall of Fame Inductees Mickey Mantle and Whitey Herzog played for Joplin. Professional baseba ...

(56–66), Nevada Lunatics (86–38) and Springfield Reds (83–40). On July 27, 1902, Sedalia pitcher Paul Curtis threw a no–hitter in a 4–1 victory over the Chanute Oilers. Sedalia Won the 1903 Missouri Valley League Championship. The Sedalia Goldbugs finished with a record of 86–47, to place 1st in the Missouri Valley League, which had no playoffs. Sedalia finished 2.5 games ahead of the 2nd place Springfield Midgets in the final standings. Sedalia was managed by Jimmie Driscoll, W. J. Ferguson and R. N. Harrison. In 1904, the Missouri Valley League became a Class C level League. The Sedalia Goldbugs finished with a record of 71–53, to place 4th in the Missouri Valley League. Sedalia was managed by E. E. Codding. Sedalia left the Missouri Valley League after the conclusion of the 1904 season. The Sedalia Goldbugs joined the reformed

in 1905. The league began the season as a Class D level league and was upgraded to a Class C level league on June 2, 1905. The Gold Bugs finished the season with a 70–64 record, placing 4th in the Western Association standings. They had three managers in

Dutch Henry Frank John "Dutch" Henry (May 12, 1902 – August 23, 1968) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher with the St. Louis Browns, Brooklyn Robins, New York Giants and Chicago White Sox between 1921 and 1930. Henry batted and threw left handed. ...

, Billy White and Dick Rohn. The final Western Association standings of 1905 were: Guthrie Senators (66–70),

(65–73), Leavenworth Orioles (75–59),

Oklahoma City Mets Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

(77–58), Sedalia Goldbugs (70–64), Springfield Highlanders (54–80), Topeka White Sox (54–80) and Wichita Jobbers (79–56). The Sedalia Goldbugs franchise folded after the 1905 season, as the Webb City Goldbugs began play in the 1906 western Association. On July 16, 1905, Sedalia pitcher Happy Wescott threw a no–hitter against the Topeka White Sox in a 5–0, 5–inning victory. In 1911, minor league baseball returned for one partial season in Sedalia. The 1911 Sedalia Cubs became charter members of the Class D level Missouri State League, which folded mid–season. The Missouri State League began the season as a five–team league. The Brookfield Hustlers, Jefferson City Senators, Kirksville Osteopaths and Macon Athletics joined the Sedalia Cubs in beginning league play. On May 19, 1911, the Brookfield Hustlers folded. On May 24, 1911, the Sedalia Cubs were in 1st place with a 7–3 record, when the franchise moved to

Brookfield, Missouri Brookfield is a city in Linn County, Missouri, United States. The population was 4,111 at the 2020 census. History Brookfield was surveyed in 1859 by John Wood Brooks, a native of Boston. John Wood Brooks is further remembered by the names of f ...

and became the Brookfield Cubs. Their manager was J.T. Easley. The Missouri State League played as a four–team league until it permanently folded on June 4, 1911. The Sedalia/Brookfield Cubs had a record of 11–8 and were in 1st place when the Missouri State League folded. Sedalia has not hosted another minor league franchise.

Ballpark

The Sedalia Goldbugs and Sedalia Cubs teams reportedly played minor league home games at Liberty Park. Liberty Park had an estimated capacity of 600. Today, the park is still in use as a public park and contains Liberty Park Stadium, the original baseball park and grandstands. The location is 1500 West 3rd Street, Sedalia, Missouri.https://scholars.fhsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1001&context=all_monographs

Timeline

Year–by–year record

Notable alumni

* George Blackburn (1905) *

Jim Bluejacket Jim Bluejacket (born William Lincoln Smith July 8, 1887 – March 26, 1947) was a major league pitcher in the early 20th century. Bluejacket played for the Brooklyn Tip-Tops (–) and Cincinnati Reds (). Personal life When he started playing p ...

(1905) * Eli Cates (1903) *

Harry Cheek Harry Gordon Cheek (April 23, 1879 – August 25, 1927) was a Major League Baseball player. Cheek played for the Philadelphia Phillies in . In 2 games, Cheek had 2 hits in 4 at-bats, with a .500 batting average. Cheek was born in Kansas City, M ...

(1905) *

(1902, MGR) *

(1905, MGR) * Larry Milton (1902) *

Ed Reulbach Edward Marvin "Big Ed" Reulbach (December 1, 1882 – July 17, 1961) was a Major League Baseball pitcher for the Chicago Cubs during their glory years of the early 1900s. Career Reulbach played college baseball at the University of Notre Dame ...

(1902–1904) * Ray Rolling (1905) * Frosty Thomas (1902)

References

{{reflist, 2

External links

Baseball Reference 1911Baseball Reference - Sedalia
Defunct minor league baseball teams Defunct baseball teams in Missouri Sedalia, Missouri Defunct Western Association teams Defunct Missouri Valley League teams Baseball teams established in 1902 Baseball teams disestablished in 1905 Missouri State League teams