Great looking single signed baseball by former Chicago Cubs slugger...Andre Dawson.

Andre, whose nickname was "Hawk", began his career in 1976 with the Montreal Expos. He played for the Expos 1976-86, Chicago Cubs 1987-92, Boston Red Sox 1993-94 and Florida Marlins 1995-96. During his career, he played in 2627 career games and pounded out 2774 hits (including 503 doubles, 98 triples and 438 HR's) in 9927 at bats for a .279 career batting average. Andre was named the 1977 National League Rookie of the Year, was named to 8 NL All-Star teams, was awarded 8 NL Gold Glove Awards, was named the 1987 NL MVP, led all NL batters with 49 HR's in 1987 and hit for the cycle on 4/29/87. Andre drew 589 walks, batted in 1591 runs and scored 1373 runs. Andre signed the sweet spot of this OML Allan H. Selig baseball with a blue ballpoint pen and he also inscribed underneath his name, "Hit for cycle 4/29/87", to note his accomplishment. Andre signed this OML baseball on February 22, 2009.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia...

Andre Nolan Dawson (born July 10, 1954 in Miami, Florida), nicknamed "The Hawk", is a former right and center fielder in Major League Baseball who played for four teams from 1976 to 1996, spending most of his career with the Montreal Expos (19761986) and Chicago Cubs (19871992). An 8-time National League (NL) All-Star, he was named the league's Rookie of the Year in 1977 after batting .282 with 19 home runs and 65 runs batted in (RBI), and won the Most Valuable Player Award in 1987 after leading the league with 49 homers and 137 RBI; he had been runner-up for the award in both 1981 and 1983. He batted .300 five times, drove in 100 runs four times and had 13 seasons of 20 home runs. A strong baserunner early in his career, he also stole 30 bases three times, and in 1993 joined Willie Mays as the second major league player to hit 400 home runs and steal 300 bases.

Dawson was an excellent center fielder until knee problems  worsened by the artificial surface at Olympic Stadium  forced his shift to right field, followed by his move to a team which played on grass. He led the NL in outfield putouts three consecutive years (19811983), and won eight Gold Glove Awards for fielding excellence. Upon his retirement, his NL totals of 409 home runs and 962 extra base hits both ranked tenth in league history; he also ranked seventh in NL history in games as an outfielder (2,303), and sixth in both outfield putouts (5,116) and total chances (5,366). He set Expos franchise records for career games, at bats, runs scored, hits, doubles, triples, home runs, runs batted in, extra base hits, total bases and steals, all of which have since been broken variously by Tim Raines, Tim Wallach and Vladimir Guerrero.

Career

Montreal years

Dawson was drafted by the Expos in 1975, and played in 24 major league games in 1976 after making his debut on September 11. His stardom rose in 1977 when he became an everyday outfielder for the Expos, and batted .282 with 19 home runs and 21 stolen bases. He was awarded the 1977 Rookie of the Year in the National League, narrowly beating out Steve Henderson of the New York Mets. Dawson had a blend of power and speed, hitting at least 20 home runs in his seven seasons with the Expos, and stealing at least 20 bases in seven seasons. Dawson, playing primarily center field for the Expos, also became an excellent defensive player, gaining his first of eight Gold Glove Awards in 1980. Based on his all-around excellence, Dawson was second in the National League MVP voting in 1981 (won by Mike Schmidt) and second again in 1983 (won by Dale Murphy).

Dawson played 1,443 games with the Expos, fourth highest in franchise history. As an Expo, Dawson set single-season club records for home runs (32, now seventh), RBI (113, now fourth), extra base hits (78, now seventh), and sacrifice flies (18, still first). He still holds the Expos career record for sacrifice flies (71), and is the only player to hit 200 home runs and steal 200 bases with Montreal.

In 1984 Dawson appeared in The Cap, a short film about a young boy living in Montreal that was given a baseball cap by Andre Dawson.

Chicago years

He played for the Expos until after the 1986 season, when he took a pay cut to sign with the Chicago Cubs. Dawson's knee injuries were aggravated by playing on artificial turf in Montreal, and he hoped playing home games on grass at Wrigley Field would prolong his career. Dawson had campaigned for the Cubs to sign him during the offseason, but general manager Dallas Green resisted, insisting that the Cubs would start Brian Dayett in right field (Dawson had moved from center field to right field in his final two seasons as an Expo, due to the condition of his knees), and that one player could not make a 71-91 team a 91-71 team. When the Cubs opened camp in Mesa, Arizona that spring, Dawson and his agent Dick Moss arrived in an attempt to secure a contract with the Cubs. Dawson and Moss' stunt was derided as a "dog and pony show" by Green, who still wouldn't make an offer to Dawson. Two weeks into spring training, Dawson turned the tables on Green and the Cubs, presenting Green with a blank contract. Green filled in the contract with lean figures: a $500,000 base salary with $250,000 in incentives if Dawson made the All-Star team, started the All-Star Game, or won the National League MVP award.

He did all three, enjoying one of his finest seasons in 1987 in terms of raw statistics.[1] He became the Cubs' starting right fielder, and hit 49 home runs and was named the league's MVP, finally winning after the two years as runner-up in Montreal. Sadly, Dawson wasn't able to turn around the Cubs' fortunes: although the team contended for the first half of the season and were even in first place in early May, they finished the 1987 season at 76-85, last in the National League East.

Dawson played five more seasons with the Cubs, and was one of the franchise's most popular players during that time. Unfortunately, his worst individual season came in 1989, when the Cubs won the National League East title. Then, during the NL Championship Series, Dawson slumped terribly, hitting .105 as the San Francisco Giants beat the Cubs 4 games to 1.

Dawson's .507 career slugging percentage with the Cubs is fourth highest in team history.

Post-Chicago career

Dawson also played for the Boston Red Sox and the Florida Marlins before retiring at the end of the 1996 season after 21 years of major league service. He received his first World Series ring in 2003 as a member of the Florida Marlins front office. Dawson is currently a special assistant to Marlins president David P. Samson.

Accomplishments

Dawson finished his career with 2,774 hits, 438 home runs, 314 stolen bases, and 1,591 RBI. He is one of only six players in major league history to record over 300 home runs and 300 stolen bases in his career (300-300 club); the other players to accomplish this are Barry Bonds, Willie Mays, Bobby Bonds, Reggie Sanders and Steve Finley. Dawson is also one of only three members of the 400 HR-300 SB club, along with Barry Bonds and Willie Mays.

1977 National League Rookie of the Year

1987 National League Most Valuable Player

8 Time All-Star

8 Time Gold Glove Winner

Hall of Fame candidacy

In the 2008 BBWAA Hall of Fame balloting, Dawson received 65.9% of the vote, falling short of the required 75%.[2] In the 2007 vote, Dawson was named on 56.7% of the ballots.[3] In 2006, he received 61% of the votes,[4] and in 2005, 52.3%.[5]

The major impediments to Dawson's election to the Hall of Fame are his career .323 on base percentage, a relatively average figure, and the fact that his raw statistics are less impressive after accounting for his playing time in Wrigley Field, a favorable hitter's environment.

Cubs teammate Ryne Sandberg campaigned for Dawson's induction during his speech at his own Hall of Fame induction ceremony in 2005: "No player in baseball history worked harder, suffered more or did it better than Andre Dawson," Sandberg said of the rifle-armed outfielder. Sandberg continued, "He's the best I've ever seen. I watched him win an MVP for a last-place team in 1987 [with the Cubs], and it was the most unbelievable thing I've ever seen in baseball." Sandberg concluded, "He did it the right way, the natural way, and he did it in the field and on the bases and in every way, and I hope he will stand up here someday."

Lifetime guarantee in regards to this autographed baseball which also comes with a COA from Gearhart Enterprises, Inc. Member of the UACC. UACC Registered Dealer #RD189.