andre dawson is in my hall of famer collection

andre dawson has a really nice looking autograph, even though it bears no resemblance to "andre dawson".  here's the card that represents the hawk in my hall of famer collection:

and here's the back:

that's a 2000 fleer greats of the game authentic autograph card. it is one of the nicest on-card autograph sets out there, in my opinion.

there was no doubt in my mind that the card i chose for dawson was going to show him as an expo. it's how i picture him thanks to his topps cards from the late 1970's that were burned in to my consciousness as a young collector.  his 1978 topps card was especially memorable to me as it featured the rookie cup - one of the first cards i saw with that particular adornment.

i didn't get to see dawson in action in person until 1986. the expos were visiting dodger stadium august 23, 1986 which was also hollywood stars night (somewhere i have a photo i took of john laroquette on the stadium concourse after the game). anyway, hawk went 2 for 4 with a double, an rbi, and a run scored as the expos beat rick honeycutt and the dodgers 7-2. that game also marked the last time i saw a member of the infield play in person, as bill russell was on the field for the dodgers that night.

by the time dawson left the expos to join the cubs in 1987, my cub fever had completely waned. still, i did pay attention to the monster season he had that year - 49 dongs and 137 rbi to lead the league and secure the nl mvp award. i didn't care that he played for the last place cubs - i thought he deserved the award. i do admit, however, that my opinion changed in 1988 when i decided that 'most valuable' didn't necessarily mean gaudy stats as i wanted kirk gibson to win the award over darryl strawberry.  besides, dawson winning the award in 1987 meant that jack clark didn't. i didn't care for that guy.

a few years later on april 30, 1994, i went with some friends to see roger clemens and the red sox take on the angels in anaheim (i'll address the clemens angle of that game in a future post).  dawson was in his second season with the bosox, and was in the lineup as the designated hitter.  his first time up, he hit a double off of mark leiter to drive in the game's first run. after the halos tied things up, dawson delivered an rbi single to score the game's eventual winning run.  he didn't play in the field and was replaced by a pinch runner following an 8th inning intentional walk, but i did get to see the guy hit.

here's my hall of famer collection as its been documented so far:

babe ruth - 2003 topps tribute world series edition world series tribute relic 351/425

honus wagner - 2001 topps tribute relics

dizzy dean - 2001 topps tribute relics

bob feller - 2001 topps archives certified autograph 

jackie robinson - 2004 topps clubhouse collection clubhouse relics

roberto clemente - 2005 donruss greats hall of fame souvenirs relic

warren spahn - 1999 upper deck century legends epic signatures

mickey mantle - 2000 upper deck legends legendary game jerseys relic

willie mays - 1997 topps willie mays reprints certified autograph

al kaline - 2001 fleer greats of the game autographs

duke snider - 2003 upper deck sp authentic chirography hall of famers 144/250

hank aaron - 2004 topps originals 1979 topps all-time record holders rbi 03/32

frank robinson - 1995 upper deck autographs

harmon killebrew - 2000 upper deck legends legendary signatures

rollie fingers - 2018 topps archives signature series 1978 topps buyback 1/3

reggie jackson - 2018 topps tier one tier one talent autographs

steve carlton - 2018 topps five star career year autographs

mike schmidt - 2002 topps archives autoproof 1980 topps buyback

don sutton - 2001 fleer greats of the game

dave winfield - 2003 upper deck sp authentic chirography hall of famers 121/350

gary carter - 1999 fleer sports illustrated greats of the game autograph collection

paul molitor - 2016 topps museum collection archival autographs 021/125

bruce sutter - 2003 topps all-time fan favorites

jim rice - 2005 upper deck past time pennants

andre dawson - 2000 fleer greats of the game authentic autographs

pete rose* - 2018 panini flawless legendary signatures 15/25

barry bonds* - 2001 bowman heritage autographs

you can find the full list of hall of famers (and some not - yet) that i aim to include in this collection at my want list site.

*not currently a member of the hall of fame