NEW ORLEANS — At first glance it may have looked like only one Hall of Famer threw out the ceremonial first pitch ahead of Florida A&M University and Southern University’s game at the New Orleans Youth Academy on Friday afternoon.
And sure, it’s true that Andre Dawson, for whom the Andre Dawson Classic is named, has been enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. But his first-pitch partner, Roger Cador, knows his way around a few halls of fame too (more on that later), and in terms of events like the one taking place in New Orleans this weekend, Cador’s impact on the game of baseball is largely unmatched.
Cador is one of the masterminds behind the Andre Dawson Classic (formerly the Urban Invitational). He and two baseball executives — the late Jimmie Lee Solomon, and Darrell Miller, MLB’s vice president of youth and facility development — came up with the idea of forming a tournament featuring all Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).
On Friday the Dawson Classic opened for the 15th year. The team Cador guided for 33 years, Southern University, has played in all 15. Between coaching and making special appearances, he has attended almost all of them, too.
“It feels good to see how it’s grown to this stage,” Cador said. “A lot of things are moving in the right direction.”
Cador is Southern’s winningest coach, and he has one of the best overall records in Division I history. In 33 seasons at Southern, he compiled a 913-597-1 record — a .604 winning percentage — and oversaw 14 Southwestern Athletic Conference titles and 11 NCAA tournament appearances.
Southern became the first HBCU team to win a tournament game in 1987, upsetting No. 2 Cal State Fullerton in the regionals.
And to think, all of this almost didn’t happen. Cador had served as an assistant baseball coach for his alma mater, and also spent four years as its assistant basketball coach. But when Southern asked him to take over the baseball head coaching job …
“They recruited me for two months, and I kept putting them off,” he said. “But then my wife made me say yes.”
Cador’s hesitancy stemmed from the condition of Southern’s baseball landscape (“no facility, no equipment”). During his years as a college athlete, the baseball team carried prestige. But by the mid-1980s, “the program had gone south,” he said. “It was literally then that I was able to put a little life back into it.”
Cador is being modest. He built Southern into one of the most respected baseball programs in the country, and he helped elevate awareness of HBCU programs. He was named SWAC coach of the year more than a dozen times (internet searches say he won 13, but Cador said the accurate amount is actually 14).
And those halls of fame? Cador is in five of them — the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame, the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame, the Southwestern Athletic Conference Hall of Fame, the Southern University Hall of Fame and, most recently, the College Baseball Hall of Fame. He was inducted into that last one on Feb. 3.
Beyond all of the accolades, Cador takes the most pride in the players he coached who went on to find success in life, both in and out of baseball. Sixty-two of his players were drafted by Major League organizations. Others went on to scout, umpire and work in front offices.
He keeps in touch with a lot of former players, and the focus of those conversations isn’t so much about what’s happened in the past as much as what might be possible in the future.
Cador is hopeful that someday a Southern grad can become the head of a Major League organization.
“I try to motivate them to get to the next level,” he said. “That’s what my goal is. To get somebody to get to be the first GM. We’re shooting for the stars.”
A new event was added to the weekend festivities in New Orleans this year — a 12U tournament consisting of teams from RBI and/or youth academy programs in five cities: Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Houston and New Orleans.
Games were scheduled throughout all three days of the Dawson Classic, played at both the New Orleans MLB Youth Academy and nearby Avenger Baseball Field.
The teams included: Atlanta Braves RBI, Chicago White Sox ACE (two teams), Houston Astros MLB Youth Academy, New Orleans MLB Youth Academy and Texas Rangers MLB Youth Academy.
Between their own games, the kids watched the college competition from the stands, and some even mingled with Dawson himself.
“We want to grow the game young,” said Eddie Davis, the director of the New Orleans academy. “We thought 12U would be the sweet spot, that we could have these kids come here, have a chance to compete, and also watch some of the college players, who they greatly enjoy watching on the field and enjoy some collegiate baseball.”
David Reed, a coach with the Chicago ACE program, marveled at the playing fields at the academy and expressed appreciation for the exposure the kids are getting to see, up close, baseball played at a higher level.
“Kids getting those experiences — that’s what it’s all about for us,” Reed said. “Providing opportunity, providing the experience. Giving them a chance to see things that they never would have had a chance to see without baseball. We also have the educational side — the harder you work at it, the more work you put into it, you can get as much out of it.”
