The Hawk Visits The Hall

By Marcus Gilmer in Miscellaneous on May 5, 2010 6:00PM

Andre Dawson holds his Expo\'s jersey (sigh) during his orientation visit at the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Dawson holds one of his old bats.

Dawson acknowledges a photo of Wrigley Field.

Dawson looks at a Hank Aaron exhibit.

Dawson and his wife Vanessa look at old photographs.

AP Photo/Mike Groll

Former Cubs great Andre Dawson visited the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York yesterday for a private tour, something of an "orientation" ahead of his induction in July. Said Dawson of visiting the Hall:

"When I walk through this gallery, I feel like I'm on sacred ground," he said. "You're talking about the greatest players ever to play the game, some of which I had the opportunity to see play, to play against, and others I read the history of. I can't begin to say enough about how exhilarating the feeling is just to walk into the Hall of Fame...It's touching. I don't think I really felt the true impact of what it is to be a Hall of Famer until I stepped in here today."

While we're thrilled to see Dawson get enshrined, the visit also served as a small bummer of a reminder that he'll be going in as an Expo instead of a Cub. Of course, recent news hasn't been all peaches and cream for Dawson, who's facing a lawsuit over allegations of not fulfilling prepaid burial and memorial services for clients at a Miami, Florida funeral home he co-owns with his brother.