Dawley was drafted out of Griswold High School in the seventh round of the 1976 Major League Baseball Draft by the Cincinnati Reds. Over the next six seasons, he worked his way up through the Reds\' farm system as a starting pitcher, pitching substantially in relief only in 1980 with the Indianapolis Indians. During spring training in 1983, he was traded to the Astros along with infielder Tony Walker in exchange for backup catcher Alan Knicely.\n', '

Dawley made the Astros roster out of spring training as a relief pitcher. Despite having little experience out of the bullpen, Dawley got off to a great start, being chosen for and playing in the All-Star Game after going 5–2 with a 1.88 earned-run average before the All-Star break. Dawley finished his rookie season with a 6–6 record and a 2.82 ERA and 14 saves.\n', '

In the All-Star Game itself, Dawley took the mound for the National League with two outs in the bottom of the third inning after the American League\'s Fred Lynn hit the first grand slam in All-Star history off Atlee Hammaker. Dawley retired Jim Rice on a pop fly to end the third, then retired George Brett on a flyout and struck out Lance Parrish. After giving up a single to Dave Winfield, he got Manny Trillo to fly out to end the inning. Dickie Thon, his teammate with the Astros, then batted for him in the fifth inning.\n', '

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