On any given Summer evening in the late 1940s until early 1960, Lano Equipment founder Hauser would Lano lace up his spikes and hold down the first base bag for the Chaska Cubs Amateur Baseball Club. The Cubs would square off against local rivals from Hamburg, Waconia, Cologne, and many others at Chaska Athletic Park — the site of this year’s MN State Amateur Baseball Tournament will be played, along with games in Hamburg and Waconia, coincidentally.
Note: Hauser would eventually become the Chaska manager, helping manage the building of the current Chaska Athletic Park. Not too many people know that fact. And, that’s Hauser’s trusty firstbaseman’s mitt pictured to the right.
Knowing Hauser’s deep involvement with the Cubs, and his own love of baseball, Joe Lano Jr. made a pitch to have Lano Equipment Sponsor this year’s tournament, now that it would be held in Chaska this year. A no-brainer after ownership tossed the idea around for a few minutes. It’s also a perfect fit, being that Lano Equipment is celebrating its 75th Anniversary.
Lano Equipment brought in Kubota to co-sponsor the event, a natural fit being that Lano’s marketing area runs right through the heart of the Hamburg, Waconia, and Chaska rural communities. Lano will also donate tractors to be used during the event for field maintenance. Lano will have Kubota product on hand for customers to check out. Lano has offered the complete line of Kubota tractors, skid steers, excavators, turf, and more since the 1990s.
Hauser Lano would be proud, no doubt. Perhaps that’s exactly what Joe Jr. had in mind.
