Eastern Washington University Athletics

Garske was a first team NAIA All-American in 1973 as an end for Eastern, and went on to win Inland Empire Amateur Athlete of the Year honors for 1973. Current NBA standout Rodney Stuckey (2007) and football All-American J.C. Sherritt (2010) are the only other Eastern athletes to win that prestigious award, which has existed since 1948 and includes all collegiate and amateur athletes from Eastern Washington and the Idaho panhandle. Garske had 33 catches for 460 yards and 39 points as a senior, giving him career totals of 106 catches for 1,477 yards and 93 total points. He also earned honors in 1971 and 1972, catching 31 passes for 422 yards and five touchdowns in 1971 and then finishing with 42 catches for 595 yards and four touchdowns the following season. As a senior he was named to the Associated Press Little All-America first team after earning All-West Coast and Little All-Northwest accolades. He was a first team All-NAIA District 1 selection as a junior and senior, and was first team All-Evergreen Conference those two seasons as well. In 1971, he was a honorable mention All-Evco pick. He was drafted in the 7th round (179th pick overall) by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1974, but a slow-healing and painful hairline fracture in his heel essentially ended his playing career. A 1970 graduate of North Central High School in Spokane, Garske originally attended the University of Hawaii and played for Eastern coaching legend Dave Holmes. But Garske returned to play at Eastern, and ended his collegiate career with a unique football flurry. The tight end/kicker/punter helped Eastern win its last four games of the season by accounting for all 28 of Eastern’s points in the first three games of that winning streak. Eastern beat Portland State 3-0, Whitworth 10-0 and Oregon Tech 13-2 when he recorded the safety. Eastern closed the season by beating College of Idaho 17-13 to finish 5-4 -- Eastern’s only winning season in a nine-year span from 1968-1976. Garske also advanced to the NCAA Championships in 1973 while competing in the shot put. He was selected by the Eastern Athletic Department to the “100 for 100” All-Time Football Team, which was honored on Sept. 27, 2008, to commemorate Eastern’s 100th year of football. His son Griffin played quarterback for Eastern from 1996-98, and will be honored on the same day as his father when the 1997 Eastern team is inducted into the Hall of Fame.