Former Men's Hockey Captain and Head Coach Abner Oakes ’56 Has Passed Away

HANOVER, N.H. – The Dartmouth Athletics family was saddened to learn of the passing of former men's hockey captain and head coach Abner Oakes '56.

Oakes, 87, passed away in his home of Hamden, Connecticut, on May 29 surrounded by family.

Born in Montreal, Oakes grew up in Shawinigan Falles, Quebec, before attending Phillips Andover Academy and then Dartmouth as a member of the Class of 1956. After leading the freshmen team in scoring, he would play three varsity seasons play for the legendary head coach Eddie Jeremiah '30. A team captain as a senior, Oakes, began his career as a forward before making the move to defense where his talents shined.

Following a stint in the Navy after graduation, Oakes would return to Hanover in 1960 as an assistant. He first took over the Green and White in 1963 for one year on an interim basis to allow Jeremiah to coach the 1964 US Olympic Team in Innsbruck, Austria. After Jeremiah returned to the bench for the following three seasons, Oakes would stay on as an assistant until Jeremiah's retirement in 1967.

It was then that Oakes would take over on a full-time basis as the 15th head coach in program history for the start of the 1967-68 season. He would hold that position until 1970 before stepping away to start a career in business in Connecticut.

In that first season as head coach during the 1963-64 campaign, Oakes led Dartmouth to the Ivy League Championship and an 8-2 record (14-7-0 overall). The team scored 53 goals, while allowing just 29 under his leadership.

Oakes remained in the Naval Reserves until 1988, retiring as a Commander. He was named to the Connecticut Veterans Hall of Fame in 2010.

Notably, he was the grandson of Charles Oakes, Class of 1883, who was a member of Dartmouth's first football team and scored the first touchdown in the history of Dartmouth football against Amherst in 1881.

In addition to working with men's hockey, Oakes was also involved with men's soccer and lacrosse during his tenure with Dartmouth.

Koenig Family Head Coach Reid Cashman:
"I am saddened to hear of the loss of Abner Oakes. Dartmouth has a long and storied history of exceptional captains and coaches, and Mr. Oakes was both of those. His name will forever be an important part of this storied program. On behalf of Dartmouth men's hockey, our thoughts and prayers are with the Oakes family."

Former Dartmouth head Coach Bob Gaudet:
"Coach Oakes was always really supportive of me during my time at Dartmouth. I looked up to him as a coach and as a person. His association with coach Jeremiah was really special and something I always admired. I will always be appreciative of his thoughtfulness and kind words for our program. It was those moments of friendship and leadership that showed me the type of person he was and why everyone always spoke so highly of Coach Oakes. He truly was a great 'Man of Dartmouth.' "

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