A knee injury has affected his career

In 1984, Dawson experienced his first down year. His knees were getting worse on the artificial turf at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal. But the baseball legend's career-ending knee problems began when he was still in high school, not while he was playing on the synthetic field at Montreal's Olympic Stadium. A sad detail about Andre Dawson is that he played football in high school, and physicians recognized that the treatment for his initial injury was subpar. Later on, in his professional career, it became harder to undo the damage as a result. A one-knee operation may put Dawson's aspirations to rest. Throughout his 21-season career, Andre Dawson underwent 12 knee operations.

In his memoirs, Dawson stated that "a North Miami receiver blocked one of our cornerbacks into me, and his helmet impacted my left knee. I went down instantly. I was in excruciating pain and was rolling about on the ground, so I knew I was badly damaged. I tried to stand, but I was unable to. My leg was shaky as Jell-O. I was sent home by the trainers after they argued that I had just strained a ligament in my knee. Unfortunately, it was far worse for me. Later that night, I began to have a burning feeling in my leg, which made it difficult for me to fall asleep. My mother brought me to the hospital the next morning. I have ripped cartilage and ligaments, according to an orthopedic specialist. The next morning, I would need surgery." For Dawson, it was the first of several knee operations. Dawson narrowly focused on baseball after his initial operation and subsequent recovery.