October Legends and Americana Ending November 14th
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 11/15/2015
Ten seasons on the artificial turf at Montreal's Olympic Stadium were taxing indeed on the knees of Expos outfielder Andre Dawson. (Dawson played his rookie campaign on natural grass at Jarry Park.) A free agent in 1987, Dawson desired nothing more than to return to a grass surface—particularly, that of Chicago's Wrigley Field, whose cozy dimensions had been quite inviting to "The Hawk" throughout his career. So fitting was the match in Dawson's eyes that he offered to sign a blank contract, asking only that the Cubs fill in the dollar amount as they saw fit upon seeing his production. Refusing to do so, the club signed Dawson for a bargain basement price of $650,000. What ensued was an assault on National League pitching not soon to be matched. In his inaugural season as a Cub, Dawson hit 49 homers and drove in 137 runs while becoming the first-ever player to be lauded MVP while toiling for a last-place team. A sizable piece in the rebuilding puzzle (the Cubs were to win the National League East title in 1989), Dawson remained a pillar of consistency, delivering 24 homers with 79 RBI and a .303 average in '88. Under new skipper Don Zimmer, the team improved to fourth place that season. Offered here is a Chicago Cubs jersey worn by the Hall of Famer during his 1988 season. This blue pullover, v-neck garment features the “Cubs” circular logo on the left chest in red-white-and-blue, and Dawson's number “8” on the back in red-on-white tackle twill. The sleeve and collar openings bear red-and-white striped stretch-ribbed knit accents. The left sleeve bears a Cubs face patch in red-white-and-blue stitching. A Rawlings main label size 44 with laundry instructions appears inside the collar with a blue swatch reading “8 88 2 44” in white stitching. A flap tag to the main label's left reads, “Set 2 1988.” The NOB appears in red-on-white tackle twill. Light to medium wear. An outstanding example of a game worn Dawson jersey, from an especially noteworthy season. This item comes with a LOA from noted game used jersey expert Dave Miedema.