BCSP Notes . . .
FAMU product Andre "The Hawk" Dawson gains election to Baseball Hall of Fame
In his ninth year of eligibility, former
Florida A&M and Major League Baseball standout slugger
Andre "The Hawk" Dawson has been elected
to the Hall of Fame. Dawson was named on 77.9 percent of 539 ballots cast by 10-year
members of the Baseball Writers' Association of
America, barely eclipsing the required 75 percent
threshold.
He'll be inducted this summer (July 25) in Cooperstown, N.Y. along with two Veterans Committee selections, manager Whitey Herzog and umpire Doug Harvey. Roberto Alomar (73.7 percent) and Bert Blyleven (74.2 percent) just missed election.
"It was worth the wait," Dawson said Wednesday in a conference call with reporters. "I can't really describe the elation."
The 1977 National League Rookie of the Year with the Montreal Expos, Dawson was an eight-time MLB All-Star, eight-time Gold Glove winner, and four-time Silver Slugger. He also won the NL MVP as a member of the last place Chicago Cubs in 1987 hitting 49 homers and driving in 137 runs. He also finished second twice in MVP voting ('81, '83).
A product of Miami Southwest High School and Florida A&M (1973-75), Dawson, 55, played the final two of his 21 big league seasons with the Florida Marlins. He retired after the 1996 season and four years later rejoined the organization as a special assistant where he continues to serve today.
Dawson's balky knees, which have require at least a dozen surgeries, all but disintegrated over 11 seasons of home games on the cement-like artificial turf at Montreal's Olympic Stadium. Nonetheless, he still became one of the preeminent five-tool talents of his era. Barry Bonds, Willie Mays and Dawson are the only players in major league history who totaled at least 400 homers and 300 stolen bases.
Dawson, known as "The Hawk," finished his career with 2,774 hits, 438 home runs, 1,591 RBIs, 314 stolen bases with a .279 career batting average.
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