One of only six Chicago Cubs to win the NL MVP Award and one of only four major leaguers to win an MVP award while playing for a team with a losing record (fellow Cub Ernie Banks did it twice), Andre Dawson’s 1987 season was too outstanding to ignore. Dawson’s career-high 49 home runs in 1987 were the most in the National League in 10 years and the number would not be reached again by any major leaguer until 1997. Winner of the 1977 Rookie of the Year Award as a member of the Montreal Expos in 1977, the man known as “The Hawk” appeared in eight All-Star games and won eight Gold Glove awards for his prowess as a rifle-armed right fielder while compiling 438 home runs with 1,591 runs batted in with a .279 batting average during his 21-year career.

     During his Hall of Fame Induction speech in 2005, former Cubs teammate Ryne Sandberg, endorsed Dawson’s Hall of Fame candidacy alluding to baseball’s recent era of artificial accomplishments. "No player in baseball history worked harder, suffered more or did it better than Andre Dawson," Sandberg said of his teammate for six years. "He's the best I've ever seen. I watched him win an MVP award for a last-place team in 1987 and it was the most unbelievable thing I've ever seen in baseball,” adding, "He did it the right way, the natural way, and he did it in the field and on the bases and in every way, and I hope he will stand up here someday.”

     Dawson would stand up there five years later when he was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2010 and although the cap on his plaque bears a Montreal Expos logo, he is best remembered for his remarkable 1987 season when he was presented with this actual National League Most Valuable Player Award. Measuring 16” in diameter the regal and dignified black lacquered oval award contains a Sterling silver octagonal plaque with “Kenesaw Mountain Landis Memorial Baseball Award” in raised letters circling a baseball diamond with a 10K gold bust of Major League Baseball’s first Commissioner and the 1921 and 1944 dates of his tenure extending from two ribbons. “Most Valuable Player National League” is in raised lettering beneath Landis’ image and “Andre Dawson Chicago Cubs is engraved on a bronze name plate above a golden baseball engraved with “1987” superimposed over two crossed bats. A green and white enameled Baseball Writers of America [BBWA] logo is positioned on top of the Sterling silver home plate. This is the actual award presented to Dawson in flawless condition and comes with a notarized letter of authenticity from Andre Dawson.

Auction Notepad