Three years ago, Cubs Hall of Famer Andre Dawson told the Cooperstown institution that he wanted the cap on his plaque changed. From Paul Sullivan in the Tribune:
But more than 13 years after his induction, Dawson has had a change of heart. He’s taking one more gamble, asking the Hall to reconsider and change the cap on his Cooperstown plaque from the Expos to the Cubs. He recently sent a letter to Jane Forbes Clark, chairman of the Hall of Fame board of directors, and the Hall committee requesting
a meeting about possibly changing his plaque.
As of Monday night, Dawson hadn’t heard back, and he wasn’t sure whether the Hall would respond.
“I don’t expect them to jump on something like this,” he told me Monday in a phone conversation. “If they elect to respond, they’ll take their time. And it wouldn’t surprise me if they don’t respond.”
The Hall had changed its policy on cap choice after Wade Boggs supposedly wanted a Tampa Bay cap on his plaque — a team for which he played just two seasons at the end of his career. After that the Hall made the choice, and they chose an Expos cap for Dawson, since he’d had his best years there. Dawson said he always has considered himself a Cub, and asked the Hall to make a change.
Sullivan reported Wednesday that the Hall will, in fact, do that:
It took longer than he anticipated, but Andre Dawson finally came to an agreement with the Baseball Hall of Fame regarding his plaque in Cooperstown.
Simply put, he wanted to be remembered as a Cub because “that’s where my heart is.”
Dawson will indeed get a new plaque, the Hall confirmed. But instead of changing it to a Cubs cap, there will be no logo at all, as has been customary for many new members since 2014 — including Greg Maddux, Tony La Russa and Jim Leyland — whose careers weren’t primarily associated with only one organization.
This is a good compromise, as noted by Sullivan, several new members have blank caps like the one that will be placed on a new plaque that will be installed in Cooperstown:
Jane Forbes Clark, Chairman of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, said in a statement that the board of directors met and approved the change.
“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,” Clark said 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.”
Sullivan wrote that Dawson didn’t attend the Hall induction ceremonies in 2024 and 2025, and that finally came to the attention of Joe Torre, who had a conversation with Dawson and helped engineer this compromise. As for Andre:
Dawson plans to be back on opening day in a couple of weeks and said he’ll always consider himself a Cub.
“It was a historical part of my career, and where undoubtedly I had the greatest time, irrespective of how many years I played there,” he said. “My kids were born there. That’s where my heart is. That’s where it has always been. I’m grateful and thankful that while I’m still walking this earth, I’m still associated with the Cubs organization.”
While Dawson spent just six years of his career with the Cubs, all of you know how beloved he’s become as an elder statesman of the franchise. He makes many appearances at Wrigley Field and is always greeted with loud ovations. His 1987 MVP season will always be part of Cubs lore.
Thanks to the Hall of Fame for making this change while Andre Dawson is still around to enjoy it.
