This is an excerpt from a story printed in the Fall/Winter 2025 issue of Harker Magazine. Read the full story in the digital version of the magazine on Harker’s issuu page, and watch for the print version to arrive during the winter break.

From behind a lectern and towering above the VIP table, Dennis Green fixes his eyes on the guests at Harker Academy’s annual Athletic Awards Night at Brooks Auditorium on May 31, 1979.

In a black-and-white glossy photo protected in a plastic sheet in a dark green binder in The Harker School archives, Green wears what appears to be a tan-colored suit, with a white buttoned shirt and a dark tie with designs emblazoned on it. His hands grip the sides of the lectern as headmaster Howard Nichols, seated to Green’s right, looks on.

An intriguing collection of photos remain from the evening, showcasing Green, who would become a successful and groundbreaking coach in college and pro football, and Darrin Nelson, Stanford’s star player of the time.

Each was a guest speaker during a ceremony honoring the accomplishments of 110 student-athletes from Harker teams at what was then a K-9 school. Green is pictured handing out trophies and Harker Block ‘H’ letters. He posed with boys wearing school-uniform sweaters with collared shirts and corduroy pants and with girls wearing plaid jumpers and knee socks.

“The evening began with all the staff taking a few minutes to review the highlights of the year and bring back memories of some of the more humorous incidents that occurred during the various seasons,” wrote Harker’s school paper, The Call of the Eagle.