Jim Garofalo (’83)
Jim Garofalo was Glen Rock High School’s most honored baseball player and also received All-County honors for his play on the school’s soccer teams.
Jim Garofalo was a four year starter for Glen Rock High School’s baseball teams and was named to the First Team, All-County as a sophomore, junior and senior (by The Bergen Record), an achievement that no other male athlete has achieved in any sport. He batted left handed and averaged over .400 during his four years. He had power and speed and was a clutch hitter. He also was a defensive star, playing third base as a freshman and then shortstop throughout his next three years; The Ridgewood News said that he had “a vacuum for a glove and a rocket for an arm.”
In ninth grade, Jim batted .403 and, with Wayne Hotchkiss providing superior pitching, Glen Rock finished the season with a 16-10 record. At the end of the season, The Ridgewood News named Jim All-Suburban, Freshman of the Year and Hall of Fame Inductee Head Coach Art Brady All-Suburban, Coach of the Year.
In tenth grade, Jim batted.395 and, with Wayne having another successful year (1.17 ERA), Glen Rock had one of its most successful seasons: a 21-9 final record; a B-PSL Carpenter Championship: and a Group 1, Sectional Championship Runner-up.
In eleventh grade, despite suffering for much of the season from a leg injury, Jim batted .518 and hit 7 home runs and led the team to a B-PSL Carpenter Co-Championship and a final record of 18-10.
In twelfth grade, while the team was going through a transitional season, Jim batted .418 with a .617 OBA and a .761 slugging percentage. He also safely stole 16 of 19 attempted bases.
Jim was also an outstanding multisport athlete. Having played youth soccer since elementary school, he joined the varsity soccer team in ninth grade. In tenth grade, he switched to football and was a member (offense and defense, as well as place kicker) of the 1980 Football Team that won the Group 1, Sectional Championship.
In his junior year, Jim switched back to soccer and, while he played as a halfback, he particularly excelled as a leading scorer for two very successful teams.
As a junior, he was a member of the 1981 Soccer Team that reached the Bergen County Tournament semifinals and then won the Group 1, Sectional Championship – after a 5-2 victory over Midland Park where Jim had a hat trick and then a 2-0 victory over Leonia. Unfortunately, the team subsequently lost to the ultimate State Champion Verona in the North Jersey Championship Game –- after the referees made a controversial handball call midway into the fourth quarter and then controversially turned that call into a penalty kick that Verona successfully converted for the only goal of the game – and then controversially allowed 5 minutes to come off the play clock and leave Glen Rock with only 5 minutes to attempt to tie the game. In season ending awards, Jim was named to the Second Team, All-B-PSL Carpenter and, with a final record of 17-4-1 and a B-PSL Carpenter Championship, the team was voted Groups 1 & 2, Bergen County Team of the Year in The Bergen Record.
In Jim’s senior year, the 1982 Soccer Team almost repeated the success of the 1981 team; it reached the Group 1, Sectional Final but lost to Midland Park, the subsequent Group 1, North Jersey Champion. Its final record was 13-6-2. Despite playing much of the season with a separated shoulder, in season ending awards, Jim was named to the Third Team, All-County and to the First Team, All-B-PSL Carpenter. He also received Honorable Mention, Group 1, All-State.
In June 1983, the administration and coaches of Glen Rock High School recognized Jim as the top male athlete in that year’s graduating class and gave him the esteemed Athlete of the Year Award.
After graduating from Glen Rock High School, Jim played baseball at Brown University. He subsequently got an MBA from NYU and then a medical degree from Temple University School of Medicine.