Gardner Dow Field Dedication Plaque Gets a New Home

Gardner Dow Field Dedication Plaque. Photo by Sydney Herdle, University of Connecticut.

Football was first played at the University of Connecticut in 1896, when the school was known as Storrs Agricultural College and the team was referred to as the Aggies. The football team played on the school’s athletic fields, which were located on the present-day site of various academic buildings, including the Homer Babbidge Library.

Tragedy struck the Huskies during a game against New Hampshire on September 27, 1919, when Gardner Dow died as a result of injuries suffered while making a flying tackle during the game. UConn honored his memory by naming the athletic fields after him. The fields would be used for football, as well as several other sports, into the 1960s. The football team would move to Memorial Stadium on campus in 1953.

Photo of Gardner Dow, courtesy of UConn Athletics.

Shortly after Dow’s death, a dedication plaque was placed on Hawley Armory next to the field. For years, the plaque remained on and inside Hawley Armory, the current home of UConn’s ROTC program and Office of Veterans and Military Programs.

UConn recently held a re-dedication ceremony at the J. Robert Donnelly Husky Heritage Sports Museum, where the now refurbished plaque will make its permanent home. Descendants of Gardner Dow attended the ceremony, including William F. Dow III, of New Haven, who is Gardner Dow’s great-grandnephew.

“We are very appreciative of UConn recognizing our relative, whom we knew a little bit about,” said Dow. “We were aware there was a field named after him at UConn, but we didn’t know much about his story. We are now very aware of what he meant and very proud to be here.”

Gardner Dow Field. Photo Courtesy of UConn Athletics.

Alyssa Kelleher ’04 (CLAS), ’17 MS, the Director of the Veterans and Military Programs at UConn, presented a history of Gardner Dow, including his military service in the World War I era. Several members from Veterans and Military Programs were also there.

Also in attendance was Andy Baylock, UConn’s Director of Football Alumni/Community Affairs, who came to the school in 1964 and coached football and baseball on Gardner Dow Field; and Jim E. Penders ’66 (ED), who played baseball as a student-athlete at Gardner Dow Field. He is the father of current UConn baseball coach Jim F. Penders ’94 (CLAS), ’98 MA, who also attended the event.

Gardner Dow Field Plaque Dedication Ceremony. Photo by Sydney Herdle, University of Connecticut.

The J. Robert Donnelly Husky Heritage Sports Museum is located on the university’s Storrs campus in the UConn Alumni Center. Admission to the museum, which is open Monday – Thursday from 8 am – 4 pm during the school year, is free of charge.

Thanks to Nick Enright at the UConn Athletic Department for alerting us to this story and for providing information contained therein.