Determination made Andre Dawson a great talent in Chicago Cubs lore. It pushed him to come back from more than a dozen knee operations. Throughout not only his career, but his life, it made him strive to not be overlooked by naysayers. Determination made Andre Dawson into a Hall of Fame player.
A prodigious athlete at his Miami high school, Dawson excelled at both baseball and football, despite playing against kids multiple years his senior. His football career hit a hard stop when he suffered his first knee injury. The trainers insisted it was only a strained ligament, but it proved to be much worse.