The Baseball Hall of Fame has allowed former Montreal Expos great Andre Dawson to recast his plaque with no logo on his cap, it was announced on Wednesday.
Dawson was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2010 with his plaque representing the Expos organization. The option of a blank cap was not offered until 2014.
“The Hall of Fame Board of Directors voted unanimously to provide Andre Dawson with the option of having no logo on his Hall of Fame plaque, which will be recast to reflect his wishes,” said Baseball Hall of Fame chairman of the board Jane Forbes Clark in a statement. “This decision gives Andre a choice that he would have taken if it had been available when he was elected in 2010, just four years prior to the formal implementation of that alternative.”
The Baseball Hall of Fame added that there will be no other changes to Dawson’s plaque and his career description will not be altered.
“I extend special thanks with much appreciation to the Hall of Fame Board of Directors for a blank cap, which allows me to represent each club fairly,” Dawson said as part of the Baseball Hall of Fame’s statement.
The eight-time All-Star played the first 11 seasons of his career in Montreal, where he slashed .280/.326/.476 with 225 home runs and 838 runs batted in. He helped the Expos to an National League Championship Series appearance in 1981, where they fell to the Los Angeles Dodgers in five games. The Expos relocated from Montreal to become the Washington Nationals prior to the 2005 season.
Dawson had previously requested his cap to represent the Chicago Cubs, the team he left the Expos for as a free agent in 1987.
“When I think about them immortalizing a cap, it would be the Chicago Cubs for a lot of personal reasons,” Dawson said ahead of his induction in 2010. “When the announcement [of an Expos cap to appear on his plaque] was made last night, it was a little gut-wrenching.”
In Chicago, Dawson won the National League MVP in 1987, batting .328 with 49 home runs and 137 RBI. He also helped the Cubs to an NLCS appearance in 1989, losing to the San Francisco Giants in five games.
Dawson reiterated his request to change his plaque to represent the Cubs in 2023, stating that the decision still bothered him.
“I just felt my preference all along was as a Cub, despite playing [11] years in Montreal,” Dawson told the Chicago Tribune’s Paul Sullivan in 2023. “I had my reasons, and I think that should’ve been something we sat down and discussed. It’s hard for stuff to bother me, to a degree. But this has toyed with me over the years for the simple reason that I was approached with the [decision] that was going to be released to the press that I was going to wear an Expos emblem.
“I didn’t agree with it at the time. But for me, getting into the Hall was the most important thing. Over time, I’ve thought about it more and came to the [conclusion] I should have had some say-so … I personally feel my mission, for the rest of my life going forward if that’s what it takes, is to right a wrong.”
The Miami native was an eight-time Gold Glove winner and a four-time Silver Slugger.
Over his 21-season career, Dawson had a .279 batting average with 438 home runs and 1,591 RBI split among the Expos, Cubs, Boston Red Sox, and Florida Marlins.
