On November 20, the Chicago Cubs announced that one of their most respected former players was returning to the franchise to take a position in the front office as a “special assistant.” That man is none other than “The Hawk”, Andre Dawson.
The Hall of Famer has spent the last several seasons in his hometown of Miami working with the Marlins organization as a special assistant in the baseball operations department. When the new ownership group headed up by Derek Jeter took over the team in South Beach they announced that their first goal was to slash payroll and to shake up the status quo. They carelessly fired Dawson and a number of other front office assistants, which included another Hall of Famer in Tony Perez, along with former Marlins great Jeff Conine. The team actually rescinded the firings shortly thereafter, but the whole scenario had already rubbed Andre the wrong way and in early October he announced he was leaving Miami of his own accord.
Dawson is one of the classiest men to ever grace the MLB, and the Marlins loss turned into the Cubs gain as they were more than happy to offer him a spot and officially welcome him back to the organization. Andre’s class is well documented both on and off the field. He has made innumerable contributions to the game and the cities in which he played and there is no disputing that he was one of the hardest working men to ever put on a baseball uniform.
Andre Dawson was my childhood hero. I’m a lifelong Cubs fan, and he still remains my all-time favorite player. I was thrilled to hear he was returning to the North Side and was going to once again be a regular presence around Wrigleyville.
Dawson’s nickname “The Hawk” was given to him by an uncle when he was still a teenager. He used to go workout with a men’s team that would hit ground balls to him during practice. His skills and work ethic at such a young age were more than enough to impress men twice his age that were playing competitively. His uncle always used to comment that most kids Dawson’s age would run away from balls hit that hard, but that Andre always attacked them like “a Hawk.” The nickname stuck, and it still follows him to this day.
I became a Cubs fan as a kid rather randomly and completely by my own merit. I didn’t have any family or friends that were Cubs fans. There was absolutely zero outside influence as to why I gravitated toward Cubbie blue. I loved the game of baseball and the Cubs games could always be found on TV playing on the WGN channel. This was before the internet and MLB packages were around, so the Cubs games on TV were the easiest way for me to watch baseball during my childhood. I watched so many games that I began getting to know the players and eventually morphed into being a full blown fan of the team. Cubs baseball and Wrigley Field became regular staples of my summers. I watched every game I could, I still do.
Dawson played the first 11 seasons of his Major League career with the Montreal Expos. He was the franchise leader in a number of offensive categories after he left in 1986. In his early days, he had terrific speed and stole a lot of bases, but playing on the artificial turf in Montreal’s Olympic Stadium aggravated Andre’s knees and when related injuries began to surface he knew that if he wanted to prolong his career it was going to have to be with a team that played on natural grass.
The 1980’s were a significantly different time in professional baseball. Nowadays, we see vicious bidding wars every offseason by teams trying to land the top free agents. However, back in the ’80s there was actually a lot of collusion among franchises. A lot of owners and baseball men were friends, and would often make a “Gentlemen’s Agreement” to not sign each other’s players in an effort to drive overall salaries down. Players were beginning to demand record breaking salaries at around this time, so this was a way for owners to try to undermine them into dropping their price tag. It played against Dawson because he was an All-Star and was viewed as a guy who was going to be too expensive to negotiate with. This resulted in Andre receiving next to no contract offers that offseason.
Dawson would prove them wrong in the most amazing way possible, though. Since he was not garnering a lot of interest for financial reasons he began to actually campaign for clubs to sign him. He loved the allure of potentially playing in Wrigley Field for the Cubs and began to aggressively pitch himself to them. To prove to them that it wasn’t about the money, Dawson and his agent showed up and presented a signed blank check in an effort to secure a contract. He just wanted to play for the Cubs and didn’t care what his salary was going to be. It worked. Chicago couldn’t turn that chance down, and in 1987 Andre Dawson was officially signed to become the Cubs new Right Fielder.
He immediately made every other team regret not taking a chance on him. In his first season with the Cubs, Andre hit a Major League leading 49 home runs and went on to win the 1987 National League MVP award. In all, Dawson played six seasons with the Cubs hitting .287/.327/.504 with 174 home runs. One of his most memorable home runs with the Cubs (seen below) was the 47th long ball of his 1987 MVP year, which he hit in his final Wrigley at-bat of the season.
In those years, the Cubs already had a beloved superstar in house with Hall of Fame Second Baseman Ryne Sandberg. During my young days as a player, I actually modeled my own game after Cubs First Baseman Mark Grace because he hit left-handed like I did. I had a skill set that matched up more closely to his, so I modeled my swing after Grace who hit over .300 almost every season of his career. But the player that I unquestionably loved watching and respected the most was The Hawk.
Dawson was a freak athlete. He was super strong. Had one of the best throwing arms the game has, or will ever, see. He had incredible power and bat speed. Nobody had a batting stance like his. His outright hustle and hard work was absolutely infectious. He was hands down my favorite baseball player. I modeled my swing from Mark Grace, but I always tried to model my work ethic after Andre’s. He was a true role model, who always let his play on the field and his accomplishments do the talking for him. He is one of the most beloved Cubs of all-time and will forever be at the top of my list.
My Grandpa took me my first Cubs game in 1992. They played the Houston Astros on a brisk afternoon in early June. He got seats at Wrigley right along the right field line in an effort to give me the closest opportunity to see my favorite player in person. It is one of the most cherished memories of my life.
I was heartbroken the following year when the Cubs decided to not to resign him. I continued to follow his career after he left Chicago. He spent two years each with the Boston Red Sox and Florida Marlins before his aching knees finally forced him to retire after the 1996 season. I still have all of my Andre Dawson baseball cards. One of my most prized possessions is an autographed Dawson Cubs Jersey which was gifted to me by one of my best friends.
Dawson was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2010. I might have been the happiest person outside of his family when I heard the news. Now he’s back with the beloved team that I have remained absurdly loyal to ever since he graced their uniform.
Welcome back to Chicago, Andre. You’ve been missed.
The Nominal Man 
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