July 25, 2010 will always be an important day on the baseball calendar of Florida A&M baseball. On this date, former Rattler Andre Dawson became the first FAMU alum to be inducted into Major League Baseball’s Hall of Fame.
Dawson’s pro career is well documented and most baseball fans are familiar with his professional career, starting with Dawson’s selection by the Montreal Expos in the 11th round (250 player picked overall) of the 1975 MLB draft.
Obviously, Andrew Dawson did not go unnoticed while at Florida A&M between the years of 1973-1975… at least not by the Expos’ scout who recognized the potential in “the Hawk”.
Not drafted out of high school and with no scholarship offers, Andrew Dawson ignored advice from scouts and opted for Florida A&M instead of Florida State. His cousins had attended FAMU, it was a good school and the Rattlers had a great athletic tradition. Additionally, the school’s baseball team had a wonderful coach in Costa “Pop” Kittle.
When Andre Dawson arrived at Florida A&M in the fall of 1972, he was a scrawny kid with a knee less than 100% mobile from a high school football injury. By the time Dawson left school in 1975 for pro ball, he was a solid and physically healthy pro prospect deserving of the chance he’d get to prove himself a star.
Though I have not found many stats for Andre Dawson while he was in college, I have located a few. Generally speaking, the teams he played on were good enough to beat the powerhouse Hurricanes of the University of Miami 3 of 4 times between 1973-1974… Miami teams that went a combined 93-28 over that two year span and produced 1974 college player of the year, Orlando Gonzales.
Among the 1974 national statistical leaders, found in the 1975 edition of the Official Collegiate Baseball Guide, Andre Dawson is listed twice amongst the “small” school leaders. Dawson finished third nationally in doubles with an average of .41 per game (11 doubles) and tenth in slugging with a .695 average.
Congratulations to an HBCU all-time great on his induction into Major League Baseball’s Hall of Fame!
By the way… if anyone has more stats on Andre Dawson while at Florida A&M, I’d love to hear from you. You can reach me via Facebook or email me from our website link.