There have been some pretty bad ass nicknames in Cubs history: Greg "Mad Dog" Maddux, Mitch "Wild Thing" Williams, and Leon "Bull" Durham are just a few that always stand out to me. Recently, one of my top-five favorite Cubs of all-time, Andre Dawson, sat down to explain his own kick ass nickname -- the Hawk.
Dawson played six seasons for the Cubs from 1987-1992 and was voted an All-Star five times, won the 1987 MVP, collected two gold gloves, and one silver slugger award. He famously presented the Cubs with a blank contract after the 1986 season as a desperate attempt to get out of the shit hole otherwise known as Montreal. Dawson and his agent told the Cubs to fill in the salary for what they thought he was worth as long as it was fair and compliant with the salary structure of the time (it turned out to be $500,000).
The 1989 team was the first team that really solidified my love for the Cubs and to this day, is one of my favorite all-time teams. I remember the 1989 NLCS like it was yesterday because it was the Dawson-led Cubs that got my seven-year-old hopes up for the first time in my time being a Cubs fan before they came crashing down as the team fell to Will f*cking Clark and the San Francisco Giants.
Nonetheless, it was Andre Dawson (and Ryne Sandberg) that took my love for the Cubs to a different level.
I loved Dawson so much, I had this poster hanging in my room as a youngster.
I'll be honest with you -- in all my years of loving the Cubs and raving about how good Andre Dawson was, I never had any idea why the hell he was called the Hawk. Maybe he was a ball hawk? Maybe he liked to swoop down and kill rabbits with his feet, I dunno.
Dawson recently shared the story about his iconic nickname and just know that it has nothing to do with him wanting to kill rabbits.
I'll be honest with you -- in all my years of loving the Cubs and raving about how good Andre Dawson was, I never had any idea why the hell he was called the Hawk. Maybe he was a ball hawk? Maybe he liked to swoop down and kill rabbits with his feet, I dunno.
Dawson recently shared the story about his iconic nickname and just know that it has nothing to do with him wanting to kill rabbits.
And if you're really wanting to know where my top five favorite Cubs of all time can be found, look no further.
- Kris Bryant
- Ryne Sandberg
- Andre Dawson
- Mark Grace
- Anthony Rizzo
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