Richard Franklin Garber (1928-1994) was an American college

lacrosse Lacrosse is a contact team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game w ...

coach and player. Spending his entire head coaching career coaching at the

University of Massachusetts Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst) is a public land-grant research university in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Massachusetts system and was founded in 1863 as the ...

, Garber amassed 300 career wins, one of 26 college lacrosse coaches all-time to achieve at least 300 career wins. In 1985, he was inducted into the U.S. Lacrosse Hall of Fame. Garber Field, the lacrosse field at UMass Amherst, is named in Garber's honor. Garber also played lacrosse collegiately at

Springfield College Springfield College is a private university in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States. The institution's mission, called the Humanism, Humanics philosophy, calls for educating students in spirit, mind, and body for leadership in service ...

Playing career

Springfield

A graduate of the

class of 1950, Garber played varsity football, basketball, baseball, and lacrosse. Garber was inducted into the Springfield Athletic Hall of Fame in 1991. Garber was captain of the Springfield lacrosse team and earned All-New England status in his last year at the school.

Coaching career

UMass (1955-1990)

Garber coached the

UMass Minutemen lacrosse The UMass Minutemen men's lacrosse team represents the University of Massachusetts Amherst in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I men's lacrosse. As of July 1, 2022, the Minutemen compete in their full-time home of the ...

team from 1955 until 1990. In 36 seasons as head coach of UMass, Garber led the team to a 300-142-3 record. Players under Garber at UMass went on to earn 80

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

selections and 105 All-New England selections. The UMass lacrosse team experienced great success under Garber's leadership, with nine NCAA tournament appearances and 14 New England championships (1963, 1969, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990). UMass qualified for the NCAA tournament in 1976, 1977, 1979, 1981, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, and 1990 with Garber as the head coach. Garber also led UMass to the

USILA The United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association is an association of member institutions and organizations with college lacrosse programs at all levels of competition, including the three NCAA divisions and non-NCAA schools, at both the varsi ...

Tournament in 1972 and 1973. At the 1986 NCAA tournament, Garber helped UMass earn its first-ever NCAA tournament win, 16-6 over

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

in the first round. Garber also earned an NCAA tournament win at 1989 NCAA tournament, 16-7 over

Cornell Cornell University is a private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson White in 1865. Since ...

in the first round. Garber was a 3x

National Coach of the Year in 1969, 1976, and 1989. Regionally, Garber was a 14-time New England Coach of the Year.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Garber, Richard F. 1928 births 1994 deaths American lacrosse players Lacrosse players from Virginia People from Harrisonburg, Virginia American lacrosse coaches