His grandson, Abner Oakes '56, will later be a captain and coach of the Dartmouth men's hockey team. 1882 Harvard visits Hanover and beats Dartmouth, 53-0. 1884 Yale, considered the best team in the country, is invited to Hanover and wins, 113-0. Charles Gill, an All-America tackle at Yale, is Dartmouth's first paid coach, albeit for only three weeks. He returned to New Haven to coach the Yale line.
Team captains continue in the dual role of coach.
In its first quest for national prominence, Dartmouth travels to Chicago. Playing the Chicago A.C. on Thanksgiving Day, Dartmouth loses, 4-0. 1895 William Wurtenberg, a four-year player at Yale, is Dartmouth's new coach. 1901 Walter McCornack '97 becomes Dartmouth's coach. 1903 Harvard dedicates the nation's first concrete stadium.