The day Andre Dawson donned a Chicago Cubs uniform, he was destined to be one of the most beloved players in Cubs history. He brought spark to a last place team in 1987, winning the Most Valuable Player Award that year.

Every time he took the field or came up to bat, you could see the fans chanting his name. As it turns out, Chicago was the spark Dawson needed at a time in his career when he was contemplating either going to Japan or giving up on the game.

In his Hall of Fame induction speech yesterday in Cooperstown, Dawson thanked the Cubs for giving him a job when he showed up at spring training with a blank contract, and the fans for their love and support, telling them the feeling was mutual.

“I want to thank my good friend and agent, Dick Moss, who had the idea to show up in Arizona in Spring Training in 1987 with no job, no contract and no uniform. The Cubs gave me a job and for that I’m also thankful. And from my heart, from my heart, thank you Cubs fans. You were a true blessing in my life. I never knew what it felt like to be loved by a city until I arrived in Chicago. And though it wasn’t my way to show it, I can’t express to you enough how I appreciate what you did. You gave me new life in baseball when I arrived in Chicago and you are the reason I continued playing the game. I can’t thank you enough for how good you were to my family and me. You were the wind beneath the Hawk’s wings.

“In 1987, I thought about giving up the game or maybe going to Japan. But I knew there had to be a place where the game could be fun again. I found that place. It’s called Wrigley Field. It reminded me that if you love this game, the game will love you back.”

Jack Keefer made the trip to Cooperstown with his father and younger brother Joe. The boys are too young to have seen Hawk play in person, but they are true Cubs fans and know from their father, and other season ticket holders, all about Hawk and what he meant to the fans and the team.

“Andre’s speech was fantastic. All of them were, they were funny, clever and they made good points. It was really cool when Andre thanked all the fans at Wrigley, all of them [other regulars who made the trip to Cooperstown with the Keefers] were so honored that he remembered them and more importantly thanked them. You could see it in their faces,” said Keefer.

Aside from being named National League MVP in 1987 with the Cubs, during his 21-year career, Dawson made the All-Star team eight times. He finished his career with 438 home runs, 1,591 runs batted in, and 314 stolen bases. He was the National League Rookie of the Year in 1977 with the Montreal Expos.

Dawson may have gone into the Hall of Fame as a Montreal Expo, but he will live on In Cub lore as a pride of Wrigley and the Cubs for generations to come.

Used with permission of the author.

Miriam Romain is a Chicago-based sportswriter and national columnist covering the Chicago Cubs for Examiner.com. The Windy City native is also the Associate Editor for SBNation Chicago and has been published in the Maple Street Press Cubs annuals. In her free time, Romain is working on a book titled “Summers At Wrigley With My Dad.”

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