UConn held a re-dedication ceremony in December for the original plaque marking Gardner Dow Field, which was the home to various athletic teams from the 1920s through the 1960s. The ceremony was held at the J. Robert Donnelly Husky Heritage Sports Musuem, where the now refurbished plaque will make its permanent home.

Gardner Dow Field was the original on-campus home field for UConn football, with games played there through 1952, and various other sports. It was named after Gardner Dow, a UConn football player who was killed in a game at the University of New Hampshire in 1919.

Shortly after his death, the athletic fields were named in his honor, and the dedication plaque was placed on Hawley Armory next to the field. Gardner Dow Field is now the home of various academic buildings, including the Homer Babbidge Library.

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.

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 to recognize our relative, who 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.”

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. A number of 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.