Andre Dawson lends his name for HBCUs

Andre Nolan Dawson was born July 10, 1954 and nicknamed "The Hawk" and "Awesome Dawson". He is a former American professional baseball player. During a 21-year baseball career, he played for four different teams as a center and right fielder, spending most of his career with the Montreal Expos (1976–1986) and Chicago Cubs (1987–1992). An 8-time National League (NL) All-Star, he was named the league's Rookie of the Year in 1977 after batting .282 with 19 home runs and 65 runs batted in (RBI) and won the Most Valuable Player Award in 1987 after leading the league with 49 homers and 137 RBI and he had been runner-up for the award in both 1981 and 1983. He batted .300 five times, drove in 100 runs four times and had 13 seasons of 20 home runs. A strong base runner early in his career, he also stole 30 bases three times. He is one of eight MLB players with at least 300 home runs and 300 stolen bases during his career. Now, that I have given you information about his background I can discuss to you about his other accomplishments.

Andre Dawson is one of the only two HBCU alums in the Baseball Hall of Fame. The former Florida A&M Rattler will now have a baseball tournament named in his honor. It was once the Urban Invitational that had been renamed the Andre Dawson Classic. Alabama State, Alcorn State, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Grambling, Prairie View A&M and Southern University are six of the eight teams playing in this year’s tournament in New Orleans. Dawson is most famously known for his time with the Chicago Cubs and Montreal Expos but the “Hawk” was born at FAMU. Playing under the legendary Costa “Pop” Kittles from 1973-1975 Dawson was drafted by the Montreal Expos during his junior season. It may not have ever happened if not for Kittles. The coach gave Dawson a chance as a walk-on player coming out of high school. Dawson acknowledged during his Hall of Fame speech in 2010 that no other coach would consider him because of a knee injury. Dawson success only brings him more fame and rewards.