Dawson, Andre N. ("Hawk")
Baseball
b. July 10, 1954, Miami, FL
Despite a long history of knee problems, Dawson was a very productive offensive player and a surprisingly good defensive outfielder, the winner of eight Gold Glove awards.
The 6-foot-3, 195-pound Dawson, a right-hander, entered the major leagues with the NL's Montreal Expos late in the 1976 season. His best season with Montreal was 1983, when he led the league with 189 hits and had 32 home runs with 113 RBI and 104 runs scored.
Dawson was signed as a free agent by the Chicago Cubs in 1987. He was the NL's most valuable player that year, leading the league with 49 home runs and 137 RBI.
His production fell off significantly in 1988 and he appeared in only 118 games in 1989 because of injury. Dawson came back with 27 home runs and 100 RBI in 1990, 31 home runs and 104 RBI in 1991.
He became a free agent once again after the 1992 season and signed with the Boston Red Sox. A broken wrist limited him to just 121 games, many of them as a pinch-hitter, and he hit only 13 home runs with 67 RBI in 1993.
Injuries continued to bother Dawson in 1994, when he hit only .240 in 75 games. He spent two seasons with the Florida Marlins, mainly as a pinch-hitter, before retiring.