Today’s Cubs Birthdays (July 10)

~Andre Dawson 1954– (Cubs 1987-1992)
Andre Dawson was a fan favorite with the Cubs from 1987-1992. Warren Cromartie, one of Andre’s teammates with the Expos, explained Andre’s nickname in his autobiography: “Andre’s nickname was the ‘Hawk’ because his facial features resembled a hawk’s. He had a body like one, too.”
The Cubs only got him because the owners were colluding to keep salaries down before the 1987 season, and Dawson said he would play for the Cubs for any amount they wanted to give him. After playing on the unforgiving turf in Montreal, he was desperate to play on the natural grass of Wrigley Field. The Cubs got him for the bargain basement price of $500,000 (he later recovered the salary he should have earned when the Players Association won a significant judgment against the owners for collusion.) Andre was MVP that year for a last-place team: the first player ever to accomplish that feat. Andre was also an important part of the Cubs team that went to the playoffs in 1989. Unfortunately for him and his teammates, Dawson was hurt at the end of that year and had a horrendous playoff series, hitting only .105, and striking out six times. On May 22, 1990, he set a major league record for intentional walks received in one game when he got five in a 16-inning contest. Dawson tied for the NL league in intentional walks that year with 21 — half his walk total for the year. At the end of the 1990 season he stole his 300th base, making him a member of the exclusive 300/300 club. His stats are comparable to guys like Billy Williams and Al Kaline, and he absolutely deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. Dawson was inducted into the hall in 2010. He ended his career with more hits than any other player born in Florida. (Photo: 1989 Topps Baseball Card)

~Dutch Rudolph 1882–1967 (Cubs 1904)
Dutch played in exactly two games for the Cubs in July of 1904. He went 1 for 3, and played right field. His only other cup of coffee came the previous season with the Philadelphia Phillies.

~Bobby Lowe 1865–1951 (Cubs 1902-1903)
Lowe had a very impressive 18-year big league career, mostly for Boston and Detroit, but he also played two seasons in Chicago with the Cubs. He was their starting second baseman in 1902. Bobby was nicknamed Link, which was a catchy way of saying he turned a double play nicely. Unfortunately for Bobby, his replacement (future Hall of Famer) Johnny Evers did it a little bit better. Evers was later immortalized by the poet’s pen (Franklin Adams), but it could have just as easily have been Tinker to Lowe to Chance.