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Sunday, May 03, 2020

Ex-Mlb Star Andre Dawson is now a mortician

Dawson, 65, has owned and operated the Paradise Memorial Funeral Home in his hometown of Miami, since 2008. Having retired as a baseball player in 1996, he joined a group of investors his brother organized a few years later to buy a different funeral home, then took an even bigger step into the business.

Dawson did not expect to actually run Paradise Memorial, but “that role sort of fell into my lap,” he told AARP last year. With the same dedication to his craft that enabled a 21-year major league career, Dawson “threw myself into it, body and soul,” despite the unlikely nature of his new line of work.

“Growing up I could have never envisioned this,” he told the AP. “I was actually afraid of the dead when I was a kid.

“When it came to funeral homes and seeing someone in a casket, it would remind me of being young and going to see a real scary horror movie and not being able to sleep at night. That’s where I was. But you grow and change with the times.”

Bourbon Samurai stays in the fight Posted: May 03, 2020 at 03:21 PM | 26 comment(s) Login to Bookmark
Tags: cubs, expos, life after baseball

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1. Ziggy: social distancing since 1980 Posted: May 03, 2020 at 05:12 PM (#5947168)

Bourbon, you really blew this one. The proper tag is "death after baseball".

2. Mefisto Posted: May 03, 2020 at 06:05 PM (#5947187)

I hope he's a better mortician than Avon Barksdale. And less good at supplying his own customers.

3. Fernigal McGunnigle Posted: May 03, 2020 at 10:30 PM (#5947259)

The basketball player James Worthy used to claim he wanted to start a funeral home after his playing career. He had a sad somber face and a very deep voice, and so at least would have looked and sounded right for the part.

4. eric Posted: May 04, 2020 at 11:37 AM (#5947346)

I saw this a few days ago and meant to submit. Such an odd after-playing career choice, especially for someone who shouldn't exactly be in financial need of a "career." I was just surprised that he's apparently been doing this for 12 years and the fact appears to have largely flown under the radar. Perhaps others don't find it as bizarrely noteworthy as I do?

5. gef, talking mongoose & suburban housewife Posted: May 04, 2020 at 11:50 AM (#5947359)

The old pulp horror writer Seabury Quinn was editor of the trade mag for funeral homes, Casket and Sunnyside.

My dream job!

6. Steve Parris, Je t'aime Posted: May 04, 2020 at 12:44 PM (#5947422)

I remember Dawson and Tony Perez had front office jobs in Miami, but were let go when Jeter came in. I guess death was the next logical career step after the Marlins.

7. Itchy Row Posted: May 04, 2020 at 01:09 PM (#5947440)

Dawson and Richie Hebner just missed being on the same team a couple of times. Dawson joined the Cubs two years after Hebner left, and he joined the Red Sox after Hebner had been fired as a coach.

8. flournoy Posted: May 04, 2020 at 01:47 PM (#5947457)

Such an odd after-playing career choice [...] Perhaps others don't find it as bizarrely noteworthy as I do?

I find it interesting, but not particularly odd or bizarre. When you retire from your primary career at age 42, you have to find something else to do with your life. Running a funeral home puts him in position to be of comfort to those who've lost a loved one, and he probably finds that fulfilling.

9. What did Billy Ripken have against ElRoy Face? Posted: May 04, 2020 at 02:04 PM (#5947467)

Especially after the 15 years he spent trapped in the Wrigley Field ivy.

10. eric Posted: May 04, 2020 at 03:11 PM (#5947496)

I find it interesting, but not particularly odd or bizarre. When you retire from your primary career at age 42, you have to find something else to do with your life. Running a funeral home puts him in position to be of comfort to those who've lost a loved one, and he probably finds that fulfilling.

Very fair take.

11. Jesus Luzardo Maraschino Posted: May 04, 2020 at 04:36 PM (#5947555)

James Worthy does the post game show on the Lakers and even has his own move "The Worthy Clap" (Not to be mistaken for Wilt's clap).

12. What did Billy Ripken have against ElRoy Face? Posted: May 04, 2020 at 04:53 PM (#5947564)

Or Stubby Clapp.

13. Walt Davis Posted: May 04, 2020 at 07:34 PM (#5947613)

This has come to light before, we discussed it here sometime in the last few years.

And ya gotta do something with your money. It seems a "strange" career choice to most of us no matter who goes into the business but it's no different than owning a bar, restaurant or car dealership that we wouldn't find so strange. I suppose it's extra "strange" to us that he ended up getting so involved.

Meanwhile, you know there's some other funeral director who doesn't do as many big funerals but does all the little things really well and is a more valuable funderal director overall yet Dawson gets all the press coverage. :-)

14. gef, talking mongoose & suburban housewife Posted: May 04, 2020 at 07:58 PM (#5947619)

Or Stubby Clapp.

Whom I watched play several times for the Arkansas Travelers. Never would've figured him to actually make the majors, as opposed to his predecessor at second, Darrell Deak, who I swear collected at least 2 hits every game of his I saw.

15. Ziggy: social distancing since 1980 Posted: May 04, 2020 at 09:17 PM (#5947639)

Dawson has a well-known preference for cemeteries with real grass instead of those astroturf ones.

16. depletion Posted: May 05, 2020 at 12:46 AM (#5947726)

Somewhere there was a great baseball card description of Richie Hebner with his bat on his shoulder slowly walking down stairs in a grave hole until he disappeared.

17. depletion Posted: May 05, 2020 at 12:48 AM (#5947727)

"Hey our Dad died, but at least we got to meet Andre Dawson!"

18. AndrewJ Posted: May 05, 2020 at 09:11 AM (#5947797)

OBSERVATION: More than most professions, the mortician business seems to be handed down from father to son a lot.

19. eric Posted: May 05, 2020 at 09:12 AM (#5947799)

It seems a "strange" career choice to most of us no matter who goes into the business but it's no different than owning a bar, restaurant or car dealership that we wouldn't find so strange. I suppose it's extra "strange" to us that he ended up getting so involved.

Well it's strange in the unusual sense because while there are reams of former athletes who own bars, restaurants, and/or car dealerships (also, very likely quite uninvolved with those), how many do we know who own funeral homes? To then also become very involved makes it very unusual.

But respect to him.

20. jacksone (AKA It's OK...) Posted: May 05, 2020 at 11:35 AM (#5947868)

and he joined the Red Sox

Dawson was paid $3,305,333 for 48.4 WAR over 11 years with Montreal. And he was paid $9,300,000 for -1.3 WAR over 2 years with Boston. Sports salaries are weird.

21. Crispix Attacksel Rios Posted: May 05, 2020 at 02:18 PM (#5948026)

This has come to light before, we discussed it here sometime in the last few years.

There have been a lot of human interest stories about how funeral homes are handling the pandemic, that seems to be the reason he is back in the news.

OBSERVATION: More than most professions, the mortician business seems to be handed down from father to son a lot.

It was also one of the most common ways for black families to become prosperous during segregation. Everyone needs a funeral. Every town needed a black funeral home because the white funeral home wouldn't serve blacks.

22. Walt Davis Posted: May 06, 2020 at 01:00 AM (#5948253)

There have been a lot of human interest stories about how funeral homes are handling the pandemic

To highlight differences, here there's a story about funeral homes furloughing staff because we don't have many virus deaths and the lockdown has (or seems to have, no official stats yet) reduced other deaths.

23. Fernigal McGunnigle Posted: May 06, 2020 at 06:27 AM (#5948262)

It was also one of the most common ways for black families to become prosperous during segregation. Everyone needs a funeral.

Similarly, the largest black owned business in the US for much of the 20th century was the Mutual Life Insurance Company of Durham, NC, which for the first many decades of its existence focused on providing burial insurance to pay for that funeral you're going to need one day.

24. Moses Taylor hashes out the rumpus Posted: May 06, 2020 at 10:52 AM (#5948309)

This has come to light before, we discussed it here sometime in the last few years.

Found this thread, but I'm not in it - and neither are you - and I know I talked about it. Must have also brought it up in a Gonfalon thread.

25. Bourbon Samurai stays in the fight Posted: May 06, 2020 at 11:02 AM (#5948313)

Found this thread,

Oh wild, I definitely read that thread, I remember the discussion about sky burial, but didn't retain the Dawson part at all somehow

26. Jay Z Posted: May 06, 2020 at 11:27 AM (#5948320)

To highlight differences, here there's a story about funeral homes furloughing staff because we don't have many virus deaths and the lockdown has (or seems to have, no official stats yet) reduced other deaths.

No as many people are dying as before. There may be fewer workplace or accidental deaths. But most people that are dying are old, COVID-19 or not.

But the funerals aren't happening. Ten or fewer people attending, no visitation at the funeral home. That's the part of the business that would be cut.

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Sunday, May 03, 2020

Ex-Mlb Star Andre Dawson is now a mortician

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