Andre Dawson's Hall of Fame Speech

Andre Dawson 2010 Baseball Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony Speech and Transcript.


"So, today, I want to start by thanking Paul Como, my coach at Southwest Miami Senior High School, who moved me from the infield to the outfield, and Coach Costa Kittles, who gave me a chance at Florida A & M University as a walk-on when no other college would look at me because of a knee injury."

BUD SELIG: "Andre Nolan Dawson. The 21 Hawk. Montreal, National League, 1976 to 1986. Chicago Cubs, 1987 to 1992. Boston Red Sox, 1993 to 1994. Florida, National League, 1995-1996.

A powerful run producer, whose poise, work ethic and unsurpassed determination made him a complete player and a leader by example. Totaled 438 home runs and 2774 hits while stealing 314 bases in 21 seasons. Earned eight Gold Glove Awards, made eight All-Star teams. Was named 1977 Rookie of the Year. Revitalized by his arrival in Chicago. Won 1987 National League MVP Award with the Cubs. Leading league in home runs 49, runs batted in 137. Twice lead National League in total bases." Congratulations, Andre.

ANDRE DAWSON: Thank you, Commissioner Selig. Congratulations to my fellow inductees, Jon Miller, Bill Madden, Doug Harvey and Whitey Herzog. It's an honor to be here with you both, though I'm surprised that they let this manager and this umpire sit so close together today. It is both humbling and overwhelming to see the men sitting up here on this stage, to hear their names called before mine. Thank you, gentlemen, for welcoming this rookie to your team. (Applause)

ANDRE DAWSON: All I ever wanted growing up was to be like Hank Aaron and Willie Mays and now I get to shake their hands and be treated as a friend. It's an honor beyond words. We've got a lot of Cubs in this group. Ernie Banks, Billy Williams, Fergie Jenkins. These guys had to go through a lot to fight their way here, more than you will probably ever know. I admire you all a lot and I thank you for paving the way. Ryne Sandberg, who was a teammate of mine for six years and I didn't even know the man could speak until I saw him up here five years ago. My kind of player, never whined, never complained. Showed up every day, left it all on the field.

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Northern's return good for Prairie View A&M Panthers

Prairie View A&M University coach Henry Frazier III said he wanted to see his defensive coordinator, Heishma Northern, have a shot to become the Southern University head coach after the school fired Pete Richardson in December.

Northern, a Baton Rouge native and former SU safety, indeed had a chance — he interviewed for the job and was one of the three lead candidates identified by athletic director Greg LaFleur — but SU settled on Stump Mitchell instead. Which, Frazier said, was good for him.

“I would like to go on record and publicly thank Southern University for not hiring him. It was good news for us,” Frazier said with a laugh Tuesday in Birmingham, Ala., site of the Southwestern Athletic Conference media day. “Really, he wanted to be there, and I want the best for coach. But he’s definitely a very good football coach. Extremely smart, intelligent and well-prepared.” Frazier said he believes Northern, now in his sixth year at PV, is prepared to take over his own program.



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Insight from the SWAC’s new 'Dean'

He looked around this small meeting room in Birmingham, Ala., last week, and he saw new faces. Lots of new faces. Times have changed in the Southwestern Athletic Conference.

Everywhere Anthony Jones turned, he saw proof of that. He’s now in his ninth year as the football coach at Alabama A&M. When he made his first appearance at a SWAC football media day, way back in 2002, Doug Williams was still at Grambling. He’s long gone. Back then, Robert Hughes was still at Jackson State. He’s gone, too.

And every single year, Jones could count on seeing Pete Richardson from Southern. Now, Richardson is gone, too. For so long, Richardson was the Dean of the SWAC, with five titles and 17 years. Now, the dean’s title falls to Jones. Through eight seasons at A&M, he’s made four trips to the SWAC Championship Game, winning it all in 2006. He has averaged eight wins per year. And even in down seasons, opponents knew that when they played the Bulldogs, they were in for a long afternoon.

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14-year-old college student to speak at scholarship fundraiser

Stephen Stafford II, in front of MLK statue on Morehouse College campus. The triple-major (math, computer science and pre-med) child prodigy will receive his college degrees in 2012, and will go on to Morehouse School of Medicine. Georgia law requires a student to be 16 to graduate high school, so he will be getting his high school diploma the same year he receives his college degrees. Stephen is from Lithonia, Georgia and was home schooled by his mother, Michelle Brown-Stafford (SEE Web Link Below).

Scholars of Minnesota-COPE Project is holding its Fifth Annual Scholarship Program Fundraiser/Gala on Sunday, August 15, 2010, from 4 to 8:30 pm at the Airport Hilton Hotel/Bloomington, Minnesota. This year’s guest speaker for the evening will be scholar/child prodigy Stephen Stafford II, a 14-year-old student currently attending Morehouse College.

According to Stafford’s biographical statement, “…Whe Stephen’s parents enrolled him in Stanford University’s Education Program for Gifted Youth, that Stephen soared into advanced mathematics and began mastering… geometry at age seven and algebra two years later.

“Soon after, Stephen was then allowed to audit a course at Morehouse College once his talents outpaced his mother’s ability to teach him. There Stephen scored the highest averages in both his college honors algebra and pre-calculus at the age of 11 and was honored by the college’s mathematics department.

“Stephen uses his gifts in mathematics and computer science to uplift other students. Stephen tutors students in K-12 schools as well as students twice his age enrolled at Morehouse in both subjects. He also lends his programming talents to projects on campus while offering technical assistance in the college’s computer lab.

“In addition, Stephen speaks to youth in schools, churches and community organizations in hopes that they will choose education as a means to better their lives. Stephen has even contributed his talents and notoriety to scholarship committees for the purpose of making education available to more youth.”

The COPE Project mentors community youth, provides scholarships, and acknowledges outstanding students in the metropolitan areas.

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RELATED WEB LINK:: http://www.gifted-spirit.com

13 Year Old Donates Life Savings to S.C. State University

Orangeburg, SC -- A 13-year-old girl gave her life savings to South Carolina State University in hopes that more students could receive an education.

From many angles, Katarina Judge is like any other kid enjoying summer break. She swims, plays tennis, and helps to look after her younger brother and sister.

"I am still a 13-year-old; I still do 13-year-old things. I like Justin Bieber a lot," she said. She is also making moves to help others. She donated $585, her entire life savings, to South Carolina State University for scholarships.



"If you don't have an education, you can't get a job, and if you can't get a job, you're not going to be successful," she said.

Her father, Hardeep Judge, is the tennis coach at the school.

"It didn't surprise me, because Katarina has always done stuff like that, even when she was a small child. If she got too many Christmas presents, she would give some away," he said.

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First-time head coach Stump Mitchell, Karl Morgan taking over at SWAC schools

Mississippi Valley State University coach Karl Morgan has one of the more difficult task in the SWAC in rebuilding the Delta Devils football program.

BIRMINGHAM, AL -- It's always been someone else's canvas, someone else's paint and brushes. It's belonged to Mike Holmgren and Jim Zorn and Terry Bowden. It's been Terry Donahue and Gene Stallings and Bobby Ross with the canvas. It's different now, going from assistant coach to head coach, after going from player to assistant coach. You're the artist. It's your canvas.

"The biggest thing," Stump Mitchell said, "you have to take a look at the picture and see what color you need to use, what you want to draw." "You've got control," Karl Morgan said. "I'm not a control freak, but whatever happens, good, bad or indifferent, you'll have a bigger part of it."

Mitchell and Morgan are the two new head coaches in the Southwest Athletic Conference, which held its annual media day Tuesday morning. Mitchell, an assistant coach in the National Football League for the past 11 years, is the new coach at Southern University. Morgan, a former captain of the UCLA defense, takes over at Mississippi Valley State. They bring to the SWAC an amazing stat that's likely not surpassed in any league. Half of the 10 SWAC head coaches are former NFL players.

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Talking about 'The Hawk'

Andre Dawson’s friends and colleagues talked about “The Hawk” on his induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Mel Didier (longtime scout and player development person): “I first saw Andre at Florida A&M when I came out to see some other players. When I saw him hit the ball, and I saw the way the ball bounced when he hit it and how it took off, I said to myself, ‘I have another Hank Aaron here.’ At that time, I ran the draft for the Montreal Expos. And for some reason I let him fall to the 11th round of the draft and still got him. I knew he’d be a great player, but I didn’t know at that time he was also going to be a great man.”

Dallas Green (Cubs general manager 1982-1987: “I was the happiest guy in the world when Andre and his agent Dick Moss came to me with that blank contract to sign for 1987. I was embarrassed that I didn’t have more money to give him, but I was thrilled to death that he wanted to play for the Chicago Cubs. It was a great day for the Chicago Cubs and their fans when Andre Dawson made his decision to play for less money than he deserved that season.”

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Photos: 2010 Baseball Hall of Fame Ceremonies