HR 9109

1	House Resolution
2	A resolution honoring Andre Dawson in the year of his
3	induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
4
5	WHEREAS, on July 25, 2010, Andre Dawson, a native
6	Floridian, will be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame at
7	Cooperstown, New York, and
8	WHEREAS, in the 2010 balloting for the Hall of Fame, Andre
9	Dawson was the only major league player to receive the 75
10	percent of the votes cast by the Baseball Writers' Association
11	of America needed to gain entry to the Baseball Hall of Fame,
12	and
13	WHEREAS, selected along with manager Whitey Herzog and
14	umpire Doug Harvey, Andre Dawson will be the only major league
15	player to be inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2010, and
16	WHEREAS, Andre Dawson graduated from Southwest Miami Senior
17	High School and Florida A&M University and began his major
18	league baseball career with the Montreal Expos, being named
19	National League Rookie of the Year in 1977, and
20	WHEREAS, nicknamed "The Hawk," Dawson played his first
21	eleven seasons with the Montreal Expos and, during his career
22	there, hit .285 with 225 home runs and 838 RBIs, and was named
23	to the National League All-Star team three times, and
24	WHEREAS, Dawson had 1,575 of his 2,774 career hits as a
25	member of the Expos, won six of his eight Gold Glove awards in
26	Montreal, and led the Expos to their only postseason series win
27	with a five-game victory over the Philadelphia Phillies in 1981,
28	and
29	WHEREAS, Dawson then played six seasons with the Chicago
30	Cubs where he won the 1987 National League Most Valuable Player
31	Award after batting .287 with 49 home runs and 137 RBIs, thus
32	becoming the first member of a last-place team in major league
33	history to earn a Most Valuable Player award, and
34	WHEREAS, Dawson then played for two years with the Boston
35	Red Sox in the American League and for two years with the
36	Florida Marlins in the National League before retiring in 1996,
37	and
38	WHEREAS, besides being known for his strong arm in right
39	field, Andre Dawson finished his 21-year major league career
40	with impressive batting statistics, hitting 438 homers with
41	1,591 RBI's and a .279 career batting average, was an eight-time
42	All-Star, and also had a total of 314 stolen bases, all
43	accomplished while playing through twelve knee operations, and
44	WHEREAS, Dawson also holds the distinction, along with
45	Barry Bonds and Willie Mays, as one of only three players in
46	major league history to have hit 400 home runs and stolen 300
47	bases, and
48	WHEREAS, his 438 career home runs are the third-most by a
49	Florida native, behind Fred McGriff (493) and Gary Sheffield
50	(480), and
51	WHEREAS, Dawson and his wife, Vanessa, and their children,
52	Darius and Amber, reside in Florida, and
53	WHEREAS, following the 1987 season, South Miami honored
54	Andre Dawson by renaming a street "Andre Dawson Drive," and
55	WHEREAS, it is fitting and appropriate that, in the year of
56	his induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame, the Florida
57	Legislature recognizes Andre Dawson for his brilliant career in
58	major league baseball and for his well-deserved induction into
59	the Baseball Hall of Fame, NOW, THEREFORE,
60
61	Be It Resolved by the House of Representatives of the State of
62	Florida:
63
64	That the House of Representatives of the State of Florida
65	recognizes native Floridian, Andre "The Hawk" Dawson, for his
66	numerous and significant achievements over the course of his 21-
67	year career in major league baseball and offers its
68	congratulations on his induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame
69	on July 25, 2010.
70	BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution be
71	presented to Andre Dawson as a tangible token of the sentiments
72	expressed herein.

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.