Andre Dawson Tried to Replicate His 1990 Gift to a Fan

Today, Dec. 11, Andre Dawson once again demonstrated his class.

We were on vacation in Montreal at the end of July, 1990. The Chicago Cubs and Montreal Expos were going to play a three-game set. It was a serendipitous situation when we saw Harry Caray at the front desk as we went to check in.  We were staying at the same hotel as the Chicago Cubs.

My son and I were excited but tried to hide it the next morning when the Cubs left for Olympic Stadium. Our anticipation increased when I saw Andre Dawson signing autographs for a group of youngsters.

"Scott," I said to my son, who was 11. "Let's get Dawson's autograph."

We went over as Dawson continued to sign. We waited patiently as the gaggle of fans in front of us decreased in  number decreased while the number of fans in front of us increased.

Now it was our turn. I tried to hand Dawson the blank paper but he refused to accept it. He viewed Scott's paper, asked him for it and signed. It was obvious that since I was the only "non-kid," he thought that an adult might try to profit from his signature.

There was an autograph show in New Jersey today. Scott went to have Dawson autograph a baseball. 

When Scott reached the table, he told Dawson that he had signed for him in Montreal  21 years ago. He added that the Hall of Fame slugger had refused to sign for his father because he only signed for kids.

Dawson smiled, confirming that it sounded like something he would do. He asked Scott "Where is your kid?" Scott was taken aback, not realizing why that was something Dawson wanted to know.

Scott replied that he had no children as Dawson smiled and signed the baseball.

When he got home a few hours later, Scott realized why Dawson asked where his non-existent kid was. The price to have Andre Dawson sign a baseball was $49 for Scott.

Adult Scott had to pay. Dawson would have signed for Scott's son for free.