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Dick Garibaldi

Richard Andrew Garibaldi (December 13, 1932 – May 10, 2022) was an American collegiate basketball player and Head Coach at Santa Clara University. He began his playing career at Santa Clara in 1951 and, as a freshman, made the winning basket in the 1952 NCAA Western Regional Final against Wyoming in Corvallis, Oregon sending the Broncos to the Final Four. This tournament was the first to have a true "Final Four" format, with the winners at four regional sites advancing to the final site. It was also the first to have regional television coverage.

Biography

Dick was born in 1932, in Stockton, California. His brother, Bob Garibaldi, was the Most Outstanding Player for the 1962 College World Series. A 1951 graduate from Stockton High School, Dick was a prep star in baseball and basketball and was selected as a First Team All-American Halfback in 1950 on "The Sporting News" annual team. A highly recruited athlete in all 3 of these sports, he accepted an offer to play basketball at Santa Clara University for head coach Bob Feerick in the West Coast Athletic Conference (WCAC).

Playing for the Broncos (along with the great Ken Sears) from 1951-1954, Dick was one of the standouts on the 1952 team that defeated Wyoming, UCLA and Oklahoma City for the NCAA Western Regional crown. It was Garibaldi’s driving layup in the last minute that provided the winning margin in the Broncos upset win over Wyoming in the regional final that put the Broncos in the Final Four. After serving 1 year in the Korean Conflict, Dick returned to Santa Clara for his senior year and earned All-WCAC honors.

In 1962, after 4 years as an assistant, he succeeded Feerick as Head Coach of the Broncos. He would lead the program until 1970 after compiling a record of 137-77(.640). In 1968, 1969 and 1970, he was named “Coach of the Year” by the Northern California Basketball Writers and Broadcasters after leading the Broncos to 3 consecutive WCAC conference titles. His 1968 and 1969 teams ran up a 50-6 record, 2nd only to the legendary UCLA teams of John Wooden. Some 30 years later, in an interview with Los Angeles Times writer J.A. Adande on March 19, 1998, Garibaldi said "You want to play the best team, but unfortunately you had to play them in the Western Regional all the time. It would have been nice not to have to play UCLA every year". Adding insult to injury, when Santa Clara played UCLA in the 1969 Western Regional, the game was played on the Bruins home court - Pauley Pavilion.

In spite of difficult matchups, these Santa Clara teams went to 3 consecutive NCAA tournaments. They were ranked 3rd in the Final AP Poll in 1969. And were led by future NBA players Bud Ogden, Dennis Awtrey and Ralph Ogden who combined to form one of the best front courts in college basketball.

Garibaldi retired from coaching after the 1970 season. In 1969 Dick was inducted into Santa Clara Athletics Hall of Fame. In 1973 Garibaldi was inducted into the Stockton Athletic Hall of Fame.

Following his coaching career, Dick enjoyed a very successful 20 years at Converse. He was able to remain close to the game that he loved, in sales and promotional roles that involved both college basketball and the NBA.