Cubs fans on his mind as Dawson makes trip for tour of Cooperstown

Andre Dawson gets his personal tour of the Hall of Fame this week.

And a chance to have his say.

First, he'll see the very private Archives Room, where the environment is tightly controlled and white gloves are required to handle items such as Ty Cobb's glove, Jackie Robinson's cleats, and bats used by Babe Ruth, Joe Jackson and Honus Wagner.

Dawson will view lumber and leather he once employed as tools, souvenirs collected from him during his career on days he reached milestones.

And in the Plaque Gallery he will be reminded that when he's handed his Hall of Fame tablet on induction day, it will show him wearing an Expos cap. That will be a discussion for the morning after his tour, when he has breakfast with Hall of Fame president Jeff Idelson.

"They've made their decision and it is what it is," Dawson said over the weekend from his home in Florida. "I just don't think they really understood why I felt the way I did."

Dawson probably had a shot at a Cubs cap until a story out of Chicago suggested a quid pro quo, that the Cubs would retire Dawson's number if the Hall put him in as a Cub.

"That didn't help matters," Dawson said. "But it is what it is. I respect their decision, and the most important thing is that I'm in and I'm very grateful for that.

"What bothers me is I wanted it for Cub fans because of what they did for me. My sense of loyalty is with Cubs fans, not the team. I was hoping to wear the hat for them."

As for Expos fans, Dawson has strong feelings for them as well.

"Yeah, but not good ones," Dawson said laughing. "They booed me when I went back there in 1987, when I was having the best year of my career.

"Montreal ownership made me out to be the bad guy during negotiations, even though that was a collusion year when I ended up leaving as a free agent.

"And then they told the other teams I was finished, even though right before that they were trying to sign me to a new deal. They buried me."

His signing with the Cubs in 1987 is now the stuff of legend, but even the good memories in Chicago don't allow him to forget Montreal.

"In '87, we finished the season up there and they pitched around me so I couldn't get to 50 (homers)," Dawson said. "Then in '92, the Expos were in Chicago and I got to 399 (homers) and they did it again.

"Hey, I'm grateful to Montreal for drafting me and getting me to the big leagues and giving me a chance. But when it came to business, there's no loyalty in the game.

"There wasn't in Chicago, either. I wanted to end my career there, but the guy in charge (GM Larry Himes) didn't want me there. It wasn't money. If I could have played a couple more years there, I'd have a Cubs hat (on the plaque)."

Dawson says he's not as bitter as he sounds when he tells these stories, but he also won't pretend there aren't open wounds when he's asked questions, as he will be this week in Cooperstown.

One story he might offer, that he doesn't think he has told in decades, is about the time he and Expos teammate Jerry White had guns pulled on them in a Montreal department store.

"Jerry was shopping for a stroller for his daughter when we were approached from behind by some undercover police," Dawson recalls. "I felt an object poke me in the side of the head and I thought some teammates were clowning around.

"It's a good thing I didn't turn around and grab it because it was a gun. A guy with an accent told us to put our bags down, and I knew it was serious.

"They said we fit the description of two robbery suspects. Then, one of the guys said, 'These are not the guys.'

"It was scary, but it got swept under the rug. They wanted it to go away."

As for Chicago, you'll not hear any Milton Bradley-type remarks from Dawson about Cubs fans.

"Man, I've never been treated any better anywhere in my life," Dawson said. "Everyone I met in Chicago treated me like a king."

In July, Dawson will feel the love again in Cooperstown, and this week he will get a sneak preview, as do all inductees during the year of their election.

"I love the history of the game, and it means a lot to me to see it and hold a bat Babe Ruth once held," Dawson said. "It means even more now knowing I'm a small part of it."

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