Hall of Fame
A native of Binghamton, Joe Garbarino played basketball and golf at Binghamton from 1955-58. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in economics in 1958.
After playing one season at Scranton and then serving two years in the Army, Garbarino enrolled at Harpur College in February 1955. In just his second game for the Colonials, the 5-foot-9 guard scored 31 points against Mansfield and later poured in a then-school record 39 points in a win over Albany. Garbarino went on to average 24.7 points for the season — a mark that still ranks No. 3 all-time at Binghamton after the school's first 66 years of basketball.
Garbarino averaged 21.9 points in the 1955-56 season, surpassing the 30-point mark again with 34 against Utica. He repeated as the team's Basketball Player of the Year.
In his final collegiate campaign, Garbarino served as team captain and averaged 19.3 points. He notched 31 points against Rensselaer and led the team in scoring for the third consecutive season.
His career scoring average of 22.0 points per game still ranks No. 2 in Binghamton basketball history — and his scoring prowess came well in advance of the three-point shot.
A two-sport athlete who competed in golf for two seasons, Garbarino was selected as the school's Athlete of the Year in 1956-57.
After graduation, Garbarino remained in the Binghamton area and has served as a member of the Harpur College Foundation and Binghamton Alumni Association among other leadership positions.
He was inducted into the New York State Public High School Athletic Association Section IV Hall of Fame in 1983, honoring a three-sport scholastic career that included all-star accolades and captain roles in basketball, football and baseball.
Garbarino also was enshrined in the Broome County American Legion Inaugural Baseball Hall of Fame in 2008.
