As we are officially back in the doghouse for this school year, we the sports staff got to thinking about the best Bulldog athletes and squads to ever represent he purple and white. We dug deep into the history books and decided on our top picks. If you got beef about the list, were sorry. There are only so many we can include and many deserving candidates will be left out. So without further ado, here is the list.

Top Athletes

Peller Phillips III
In 1988, as Garfield’s star long-jumper, Phillips leapt 27 feet. It would have shattered the national prep record that had belonged to Carl Lewis (yes, Carl Lewis) for ten years, but was discounted due to a slight tailwind. To illustrate, 27 feet is the width of a singles tennis court or the length of an Escalade. Phillips now coaches the Garfield mens golf team.

Ed Roy
The best player on the nationally-touted 2000 basketball team and Brandon’s older brother. He could have gone D-I, but poor grades got in the way. Steve Miranda watched Roy put up around 40 against Franklin; he reports that after Roy would score, he would hop-skip down the Franklin side of the court, jumping up and down, facing the Quaker fans, roaring, with both middle fingers raised triumphantly.

Debbie Armstrong
Debbie Armstrong is one of two Garfield graduates to have won gold medals in the 1984 Olympics (Joyce Walker being the other). In winning the Giant Slalom, she became the first American woman Olympic ski champion in 32 years. Now, she is connected to numerous community service organizations, addressing issues as diverse as drugs, skiing, and reforestation.

Roydell Smiley
One of the “four Roys,” along with Will Conroy and Ed and Brandon Roy, Roydell Smiley formed an integral part of the 1999 – 2000 boys basketball team. Of the eight Division One caliber players at Garfield that year, Smiley led the team in scoring, with 17.2 points per game. He went on to junior college before playing two productive years at USC.

Hillary Heath
Arguably the most successful Garfield alum to play for the girl’s soccer team, Heath had success upon success in her high school years. Graduating in 2005, Heath played varsity four years and was named team MVP in her junior and senior years. In addition, Heath was named 2004-05 Washington State Gatorade Girl’s Soccer Player of the Year. Furthermore, Heath maintained a 4.000 (the team was All-Academic State Champion twice during her four years), and received a full ride to Stanford to boot.

Brandon Roy
The man doesn’t need any introduction – Brandon Roy was, and continues to be, simply stellar. Named KingCo Conference MVP twice, in 2001 and 2002, ranked in the top 40 nationally as a senior, the best all-around player at the University of Washington, Rookie of the Year in 2007, and star of the Portland Trailblazers – need I say more?

Isaiah Stanback
It is hard to find fame in the Garfield football program, but somehow Stanbeck managed to get a starting QB spot on the UW squad.

Joyce Walker
This 1980 Garfield grad not only went on to be a two time all American at LSU and to become one of the first ever female members of the Harlem Globetrotters. After fighting a drug addiction, Walker signed on as women’s basketball coach at Garfield in 2000 and took state in 2005.

Top Teams

1987 Boys and Girls Track Team
Throughout the ‘80’s, the Garfield Track Teams, both women’s and men’s, were unstoppable, dominating AAA. However, no teams were better than those of 1987. The teams went 2/2 as both the men and women won state championships, led by Coaches Fred Beckwith and Greg Brashear.

1974 Boys Basketball
“The 1974 boys basketball team was THE best ever to come through the state of Washington,” says longtime band director Mr. Acox, a man who should know. The team known as the Superdogs went undefeated en route to a state championship behind point guard JoJo Rodriguez (now the coach at Lakes), Leon Johnson, shot-blocker Larry Griffin, Keith Harrell, Ronnie Mitchell, and sixth man Layton Jenkins.

The 2005 Girl’s Basketball Team
After a frustrating second place finish in 2004, Garfield defeated the Roosevelt Roughriders and took state in 2005. Maybe they should have made a movie about that.