The front: Great photo of a Hall of Famer –clearly ready for
action as he casts an intimidating glare at the other team’s dugout.
The back: Per baseball-reference, in 1975 Dawson led the
Pioneer League in hits (99), home runs (13), slugging (.553), total bases
(166), hit-by-pitch (6) and sacrifice flies (5).
The player: Andre Dawson was a five-tool player who excelled
at every area of baseball. In 2,627 games, mostly with the Expos and Cubs, the
Hall-of-Famer hit .279 with 438 HR, 1,591 RBI and 314 stolen bases. Injuries
from playing the first decade of his career on the artificial turf in Montreal
prevented those numbers from being even higher. He signed with the Cubs in 1987
and was rejuvenated playing on grass, hitting .287 with a league leading 49 HR
and 137 RBI as he won the NL MVP award.
The man: At an age when most ex-ballplayers have long since
gone to seed, Dawson can still hit the ball out of a major league ballpark in his 60s. He now owns the Paradise Memorial Funeral Home in Miami, FL. He runs
the business, drives the hearse, picks up bodies from hospitals, and
occasionally poses for pictures and signs autographs for surprised mourners.
My collection: I have 171 of his cards, from 1977 to 1997. I
would be interested in trading for 1983 Fleer Star Stickers #264.
Running a funeral home is an interesting post-retirement career. I thought I had this card but it was a 60 Years of Topps insert.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I watched the clips of Hawk launching softballs 300+ feet. Wow!
That is a cool card of his. Running a funeral home? Didn't see that coming.
ReplyDelete