Area Baseball: Haats, Adamson, Johnson named to area Hall of Fame

The Kandiyohi County Historical Society has named three men as Class of 2018 inductees into the West Central Minnesota Hall of Fame. This year's inductees are:

Randy Haats

A Raymond native, Haats graduated from Raymond High School in 1967. During his high school career, he was a pitcher and shortstop and was named all-conference three times. Haats played baseball at Willmar State Junior College (now Ridgewater) and two years at South Dakota State University. Haats played for the Raymond Rockets for 13 years and was inducted in the Raymond Rocket Hall of Fame in 2013. Haats coached at Willmar Community College and the Willmar American Legion game. He spent over 20 years as a umpire for high school, college and amateur baseball.

Wade Adamson

Adamson grew up in Willmar and in 1975 graduated from Willmar High School, for which he pitched. During his senior year, the Willmar Cardinals earned a spot in the Minnesota state baseball championship game and was runner-up. Adamson played his college years at South Dakota State University, helping to lead the team to conference championships his junior and senior years. In 1978, the Minnesota Twins drafted Adamson in the fourth round. He played Class A and AA until 1981. He played 10 years with the Willmar Rails and coached for Willmar schools and the Willmar Legion Team.

Mike Johnson

Johnson is a native of Kerkhoven and graduated from Kerkhoven High School in 1963. He played at the Willmar Community College from 1963-1965 and St. Cloud State University from 1965-1967. From 1960-1984, he played for various teams including the Kerkhoven American Legion, Kerkhoven town team, Norway Lake, Granite Falls and Willmar. Johnson coached from 1971-2010 for Clara City High School, New London-Spicer, Willmar Junior High, Clara City/Raymond Legion, Willmar Community College and Ridgewater. Johnson volunteered with youth baseball by coaching traveling teams.

The West Central Minnesota Hall of Fame Class of 2018 induction will be held in early 2018.

For more information, contact Jill Wohnoutka at 320-235-1881 or kandhist@msn.com