Soon after receiving with his high school diploma, he joined the Class of 1921 at Connecticut Agricultural College in Storrs in the fall of 1917.

[6] In the summer of 1918, Dow enlisted in the United States Navy Reserve and was stationed at the Harvard Radio School in Cambridge until the end of December.

[6] Dow capped the school year on May 29 by attending the junior class prom with Miss Francis Bristol of Ansonia.

Connecticut Aggies right defensive end Eddie Voorhees tripped him, but Farmer regained his feet and continued down the field.

He exhibited no visible signs of injury, and initially it was thought that he had been kneed in the solar plexis until the doctor eventually noticed a bump on his head.

His body was transported first to the hospital and then to Dow's family home in New Haven, where he was interred at Evergreen Cemetery on October 1.

The Aggies team voted to continue the season and finished 2–6, winning their final two games with Boston University and Rhode Island.

[12] Connecticut Agricultural College's athletic association posthumously granted Dow a varsity jersey, which they sent to his family.

The Gardner Dow Field served as the football team's home pitch until Memorial Stadium opened in 1953.

It hosted tennis courts and other facilities, while archery matches, agricultural shows and fairs, and various student activities were held there.

By the 1970s, the field had largely ceased to exist due to new construction, including the Homer Babbidge Library, the School of Business, and the Information Technology Engineering buildings.