By Fritz Busch

Minnesota Amateur Baseball Hall of Famer LaVerne Kuck continues to announce games and keep a scorebook at the Searles Ballpark from the “The Cage” which can be seen in the photo below. And a plaque shows Luverne Kuck as a hall of famer.

If you’ve ever been to Searles Ballpark in recent decades, you’ve probably heard LaVerne Kuck announcing games. He’s been active in Searles baseball for 75 years.

Kuck became interested in baseball as a young boy.

“My uncle, Werner Reinhart, was a good ballplayer, and my grandfather Hubert Reinhart played baseball at Searles,” Kuck said. “I played baseball with my Uncle Werner who caught, played first base and right field. He’s the one that really got me started.”

LaVerne began playing right field for Searles at age 13.

Kuck later moved to left and center field, played third base, moved back into the outfield before playing first base the final 10 years.

Searles was state amateur baseball tournament runner-up in 1951. Searles lost 1-0 to Soderville for the state championship in Faribault.

In 1952, Searles went to the state tournament again in Austin. Searles won its first game and lost the next game. Searles went to the 1969 state tournament in Jordan and lost its first game.

Kuck, a dairy farmer, he drove a gravel truck for Hoffman Construction most of his life. LaVerne celebrated his 88th birthday this summer.

“He organized and coached teams and did field maintenance while he played for years and years,” said Al Drexler of New Ulm. “LaVerne and his brother, Dick, worked side by side for many years. Dick kept score and Laverne announced.”

All three Kuck brothers, LaVerne, Dick and Kenny, are in the Minnesota Amateur Baseball Hall of Fame. Dick was a well driller in Searles. Kenny worked at Kraft Foods and played catcher in Searles for many years. Kenny and LuVerne both umpired high school baseball for many years.

Among LuVerne’s favorite amateur baseball games was a 1951 regional game in which he scored both runs and had three of Searles’ four hits in a 2-0 win over Lake Benton.

A couple years later, he hit two homers in a regional win over Milroy.

One of the more unusual events happened in Madelia were Kuck hit a ball over the scoreboard and went into a homerun trot, thinking the ball would not return to the field. According to the story, some youngsters behind the scoreboard picked up the ball and threw it to a Madelia player, who threw it back onto the field.

LuVerne was tagged out at third base.

Apparently, the umpire didn’t see the ball being thrown back onto the field.