Why Andre Dawson Belongs in the Hall of Fame

They used to call Andre awsome, because it rhymed with Dawson—but even if his name was Schwartz, he was still awesome!  

I was lucky to see almost every home game that Dawson played as a Cub during that time.  Even if the Cubs were down by ten runs, Andre never gave up.  I was a fixture in the left field bleachers, until Andre signed on with the Cubs, giving G.M. Dallas Green a blank contract to fill in whatever amount it took to come to Chicago!

That deal became the biggest lopsided sale since Manhatten was bought for $24 bucks from the Indians...

I became a Chaplin in Andre's Army, and I moved over to right field.  Looking back, 1987 was the last year of the real fans in the cheap seats (when they were).  

It was the year before lights, and writer Lonnie Wheeler spent a summer in Wrigley that he chronicled in his book "Bleachers."  If Andre wasn't with the Cubs that season, the team would have finished in the Minor Leagues.

I made many signs during that season—and many were dedicated to Andre.  My favorite was: "Andre Makes Our Day, Everyday"—and he did!

Bleacherite Tom Dixon caught Dawson's first homer as a Cub, and gave it back to Andre after the game. Andre signed it and gave it back to Tom. It was his first of 49 dingers that season.

I was there the day Andre threw out a hitter at first base after a clean hit to right field. By June, Andre was having an MVP season—but Eric Show of the Padres almost cut the season short when he hit Andre in the face with a fastball.

Dawson was rewarded with the "Most Valuable Player" Award, even though the Cubs finished in last place.  He was a Class act!  The fans appreciated him, on and off the field, for his genuine sportsmanship.

I was hoping this was the year that Andre was going to become a member of baseball's Hall of Fame. But be that as it may, like the Cubs, it's "WAIT TILL NEXT YEAR!"  

I was very disappointed that sportswriter Rick Telander of the Chicago Sun-Times decided not to vote for anyone on this year's list.  Back in 1985, I created the Lenny "Boots" Murillo Award, named after the Cubs third baseman from the 1940's, who made four errors in one inning in a game  in 1942 (it happened on the day his son was born, and was given the nickname "Boots.") I gave it to the "Unknown Baseball Scribe" who left Jim Frey off the 1984 NL "Manager of the Year" award ballot. If I was still giving the "Boots" Award, it would have gone to Telander for not taking the opportunity to vote for Andre Dawson.

As a fan of 63 years, I witnessed many rookies and vets, both on visiting teams and wearing a Cubs uniform that went on to become inducted into Cooperstown: Musial,   Williams, Greenberg, Robinson, Mays, Banks, etc.

Even stacked up against those greats, I honestly believe that Andre Dawson earned his place at Cooperstown. He is my favorite Cubs player of all-time!