He has many nicknames

The oldest of eight kids, Dawson was born on July 10, 1954, in Miami, Florida. In 1963, he participated in his first Little League game, displaying his agility at an early age and frequently competing with much older children. Because he possessed a hawk eye at the plate, his uncle gave him the moniker "The Hawk" when he was only 9 years old. Dawson also adored other sports. For Southwest Miami High School, he was a football player.

On his youth baseball teams, Andre would attack the ball like a hawk while his teammates would retreat. He has carried the name "The Hawk" throughout his life. Dawson recalled: "I used to get ground balls from my uncle and get batting practice from him. Unlike other youngsters, I would be all over the place and take a different approach. Many children would withdraw. The ball would frighten them. He claimed that if I attacked it, it would seem to him like a hawk. And during those years, it simply persisted."

One of the interesting facts about Andre Dawson is that Dawson's family usually called him "Pudgy" when he was a child growing up in South Florida before he became The Hawk. A moniker until now he finds confusing and can't explain. When he was questioned about this afterward Dawson said that he wasn't even overweight as a child and he doesn't understand why his family calls him that. It was only a moniker that his family used.