Now a Funeral Home Owner, Baseball Hall of Famer Andre Dawson Deals With Effects of Covid-19

Former Major League outfielder Andre Dawson still has a part time position in baseball as a member of the Chicago Cubs front office, but his primary gig is outside the game. Way outside of it. Dawson owns a funeral home in the Richmond Heights area of Miami, and like funeral home operators everywhere these days, is providing funerals for those who have died from Covid-19 or Coronavirus. That means constant cleaning and sanitizing and taking special precautions in preparing the deceased for funerals, and having to limit those in attendance to just 10 people. He sees the devastating emotional toll such things take on the families of the pandemic victims, who cannot go through traditional mourning practices.

Dawson first entered the funeral home business as an investor in the funeral home his younger brother owned back in 2003. He now owns and operates it with his wife and uncle and some 20 or so employees. Nothing could have prepared him for dealing with the effects of a global pandemic, but he knows he’s helping people in this difficult time.

Dawson spent 21 years in the majors with the Expos, Cubs, Red Sox, and Marlins, retiring in 1996. He hit 438 homers, drove in 1591 runs, had 2774 hits, and stole 314 bases, despite multiple knee operations. He led the major leagues with 49 homers and 137 RBIs in 1987 with the Cubs, and was voted the National League Most Valuable Player, despite the fact that the Cubs were 76-85 and finished in last place in the N.L. East. Dawson was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2010.