The Topeka Golden Giants, also known as Goldsby's Golden Giants, was a

minor league baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

team located in

Topeka, Kansas Topeka ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeastern Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2020 cen ...

. The team, which lasted for just one season, played in the Western League. The Golden Giants posted a 90-25 record (.783) in their one season of operation, winning the Western League title by 15 games over the second-place Lincoln Tree-Planters. On April 10, 1887, the Golden Giants also won an exhibition game from the defending

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB). It has been contested since between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winning team, determined through a best- ...

champions, the St. Louis Browns (the present-day Cardinals), by a score of 12-9. 1887 Topeka Golden Giants

Notable players

The Western League of that era is classified as a minor league circuit, but the Golden Giants' players had significant major league experience. The roster included the player-manager Walt Goldsby, an outfielder who played in the majors in 1886 and returned to the majors for the 1888 season (with the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

). First baseman Dan Stearns led the league in hits, and Jimmy Macullar led the league in batting average. Both Stearns and Macullar had previously played for the Baltimore Orioles through 1885, and had also teamed up on the championship 1882

Cincinnati Red Stockings The Cincinnati Red Stockings of were baseball's first all-professional team, with ten salaried players. The Cincinnati Base Ball Club formed in 1866 and fielded competitive teams in the National Association of Base Ball Players (NABBP) 1867� ...

. A number of other players had major league experience including: outfielder Bug Holliday, who led the league in home runs; pitcher Tom Sullivan, who led the league in wins with 36; Jim Conway;

Perry Werden Percival Wheritt "Perry" Werden (July 21, 1865 – January 9, 1934) was an American baseball player. He was a first baseman for the St. Louis Maroons (1884), Washington Nationals (1888), Toledo Maumees (1890), Baltimore Orioles (1891), St. Lo ...

; Joe Gunson; Joe "Old Hoss" Ardner; and Buster Hoover.Topeka Baseball
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References

{{Reflist Defunct minor league baseball teams Sports in Topeka, Kansas Defunct baseball teams in Kansas Baseball teams established in 1887 Baseball teams disestablished in 1887 1887 establishments in Kansas 1887 disestablishments in Kansas Professional baseball teams in Kansas Defunct Western League teams