No cap decision, but Cubs fans draw praise from newest Hall member
There was no resolution Thursday to the issue of which team's cap newly elected Hall of Famer Andre Dawson will wear.
However, judging by the glowing manner Dawson talked of Chicago both Wednesday and Thursday, he's giving every signal that he'd like to go into the Hall as a Cub in July. The Hall of Fame will make the ultimate decision, with input from Dawson.
Dawson began his career with the Montreal Expos and spent 10-plus years with them. His career took on a new dimension when he signed a blank contract to play for the Cubs in 1987 and became a huge fan favorite.
"I'm grateful that both of those organizations gave me the opportunity to wear their uniform," Dawson said in New York Thursday, one day after receiving word of his election. "I played a little bit longer in Montreal. Of course, that's where I got my initial start.
"But, I tell you, going to Wrigley Field, playing in the 'Friendly Confines' amongst the Cubs fans, that was amazing in itself. That really rejuvenated my career, I think, and put me at a point in time where I was unsure about myself and the game and how much longer I was going to be in the game. The way the Cubs fans embraced me that first year pretty much propelled me on to winning the National League MVP award.
"I owe that organization a lot for believing in me."
Daily Herald columnist Barry Rozner, who covered Dawson in the early 1990s, said Dawson has told him numerous times he'd like to go into the Hall of Fame as a Cub.
Dawson added he was especially heartened because the fans stuck with him even as his start as a Cub wasn't what he would have liked.
"I didn't really meet the demands initially, but I just felt that in a sense I played in a media center, I played somewhere where the fans really took a hold and adored me and made me really go out and be, not really a crowd pleaser, but not embarrass them and just give it what they expected day in and day out."
Dawson also gave a tip of the cap, so to speak, to the fans in Montreal, who supported the team in greater numbers during early '80s.
"I still run into a lot of fans that flock to South Florida for the winter," said Dawson, who now works for the Florida Marlins. "I still have a lot of memories of the days in Montreal. I'm most appreciative. We had huge turnouts at one point, sometimes almost closer to 3 million total.
"A lot of times, a lot of them weren't quite knowledgeable about the game. They would make comments like, 'What time is the match today?' But for the most part, they learned the game, and they enjoyed it. Again, I really had a wonderful time there. I played there for 10 years.
"To the fans, I would just like to say thank you for the support over the years."
Dawson left the Expos with some hard feelings after the 1986 season, when he couldn't come to terms on a new contract. He brought the Cubs a blank contract in the spring of 1987 and played that season for $500,000.
He also said coming to the natural grass of Wrigley Field rejuvenated his career after the hard artificial surface at Montreal's Olympic Stadium took a gruesome toll on his knees, leading to two knee replacements.
On a more poignant note, Dawson said his late mother, who died in 2006, would have been 71 Thursday.
"My mother never got to see me play a game in person for fear that I would get hurt while she was in attendance," Dawson said. "And she went through me during the early years of the Hall of Fame process, and she told me just to stay faithful - it's inevitable, it's eventually going to happen and be ready when it happens. I just wanted to thank her yesterday. I went to her gravesite. I prayed. I thanked her for the job she did as a mother, father and a big sister to me. She probably was my best friend."
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