Philip John Sarboe (August 22, 1911 – November 19, 1985) was an
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...
player and coach. He played
college football
College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States.
Unlike most ...
at the State College of Washington—now
Washington State University
Washington State University (Washington State, WSU, or informally Wazzu) is a public land-grant research university with its flagship, and oldest, campus in Pullman, Washington. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest land-grant unive ...
—and professionally in
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
(NFL) with the
Boston Redskins
The Washington Commanders, an American football team belonging to the National Football League (NFL), have also played as the Boston Braves, Boston Redskins, Washington Redskins, and Washington Football Team. Founded in 1932, the team has won fi ...
,
Chicago Cardinals
The professional American football team now known as the Arizona Cardinals previously played in Chicago, Illinois, as the Chicago Cardinals from 1898 to 1959 before relocating to St. Louis, Missouri, for the 1960 through 1987 seasons.
Roots ca ...
, and
Brooklyn Dodgers
The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association (19th century), American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the ...
.
Sarboe served as the head football coach at Central Washington College of Education—now
Central Washington University
Central Washington University (CWU) is a public university in Ellensburg, Washington. Founded in 1891, the university consists of four divisions: the President's Division, Business and Financial Affairs, Operations, and Academic and Student Lif ...
—from 1941 to 1942, Washington State from
1945
1945 marked the end of World War II and the fall of Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan. It is also the only year in which nuclear weapons have been used in combat.
Events
Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix.
Januar ...
to
1949, Humboldt State College—now
Humboldt State University
California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt also known as Cal Poly Humboldt, Humboldt or Cal Poly"Cal Poly" may also refer to California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, California or California State Polytechnic Universi ...
—from 1951 to 1965, and the
University of Hawaii at Manoa
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...
in 1966, compiling a career college football record of .
Early years and college playing career
Born in
Fairbanks, Alaska
Fairbanks is a home rule city and the borough seat of the Fairbanks North Star Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. Fairbanks is the largest city in the Interior region of Alaska and the second largest in the state. The 2020 Census put the po ...
, Sarboe graduated from
Lincoln High School in
Tacoma, Washington
Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, Washington, Olympia, and northwest of Mount ...
, and was a three-sport athlete in the
Pacific Coast Conference
The Pacific Coast Conference (PCC) was a college athletic conference in the United States which existed from 1915 to 1959. Though the Pac-12 Conference claims the PCC's history as part of its own, with eight of the ten PCC members (including a ...
at the State College of Washington in
Pullman — now
Washington State University
Washington State University (Washington State, WSU, or informally Wazzu) is a public land-grant research university with its flagship, and oldest, campus in Pullman, Washington. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest land-grant unive ...
. On a
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
scholarship from head coach
Jack Friel
John Bryan Friel (August 26, 1898 – December 12, 1995) was an American college basketball coach, the head coach of the Washington State Cougars for 30 seasons, from 1928 He holds the school record for victories by a men's basketball coach with ...
, he also played
shortstop
Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists who ...
in
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...
under head coach
Buck Bailey
Arthur Buckner Bailey (June 2, 1896 – October 28, 1964) was a college baseball head coach; he led the Washington State Cougars for 32 seasons, from 1927 through 1961, except for three seasons during World War II, and had an overall record of ...
, and had his greatest success in
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
, most notably as a
fullback under head coach
Babe Hollingbery
Orin Ercel "Babe" Hollingbery (July 15, 1893 – January 12, 1974) was an American football coach. He served as the head football coach at the State College of Washington—now known as Washington State University—for 17 seasons, from 1926 to 1 ...
. Sarboe played in the
East–West Shrine Game in January 1934.
[ Although he had ]minor league
Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...
offers in baseball, he chose to play professional football.
Professional playing career
Sarboe played three seasons in the National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
, starting with Boston Redskins
The Washington Commanders, an American football team belonging to the National Football League (NFL), have also played as the Boston Braves, Boston Redskins, Washington Redskins, and Washington Football Team. Founded in 1932, the team has won fi ...
in 1934
Events
January–February
* January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established.
* January 15 – The 8.0 1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake, Nepal–Bihar earthquake strik ...
. Listed at and , he was traded that season to the Chicago Cardinals
The professional American football team now known as the Arizona Cardinals previously played in Chicago, Illinois, as the Chicago Cardinals from 1898 to 1959 before relocating to St. Louis, Missouri, for the 1960 through 1987 seasons.
Roots ca ...
, and finished his pro career in 1936 with the Brooklyn Dodgers
The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association (19th century), American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the ...
. He completed only 42.3 percent of his passes for just 1,133 yards, had a 4–26 career touchdown to interception ratio, and a career passer rating of 27.9.
Coaching career
Sarboe began his coaching career in 1937 in southeastern Washington at Clarkston High School, then moved west to Aberdeen
Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...
in 1939.[ In 1941 and 1942, he coached football at ]Central Washington
Central Washington is a region of the U.S. state of Washington between the western and eastern parts of the state extending from the border with the Canadian province of British Columbia in the north to the border with the U.S. state of Oregon i ...
College of Education—now Central Washington University
Central Washington University (CWU) is a public university in Ellensburg, Washington. Founded in 1891, the university consists of four divisions: the President's Division, Business and Financial Affairs, Operations, and Academic and Student Lif ...
—in Ellensburg
Ellensburg is a city in and the county seat of Kittitas County, Washington, United States. It is located just east of the Cascade Range near the junction of Interstate 90 and Interstate 82. The population was 18,666 at the 2020 census. and was ...
, compiling a 6–6–3 record. The 1942 team was 4–1–1 in the Washington Intercollegiate Conference The Evergreen Conference (EvCo), known as the Tri-Normal League from 1920 to 1938 and the Washington Intercollegiate Conference (WINCO) from 1938 to 1947, was an intercollegiate athletic conference composed of member schools located in the states o ...
and won the conference title.
The program was suspended after the 1942 season due to World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, and Sarboe coached in Tacoma at Lincoln High School, his alma mater. He had planned to return to Ellensburg to coach the high school team in 1945 and then return to Central Washington when it resumed football in 1946.
Hollingbery, the Cougars' head coach since 1926, was not brought back in 1945
1945 marked the end of World War II and the fall of Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan. It is also the only year in which nuclear weapons have been used in combat.
Events
Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix.
Januar ...
and Sarboe was hired as head coach of the Cougars in late May, the first alumnus to head the football program. In his first season in Pullman, WSC posted a 6–2–1 record, but struggled afterward; Sarboe had a record in five seasons and resigned in December 1949.
Sarboe coached a season at North Central High School in Spokane
Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Ca ...
in 1950,[ then went to ]Humboldt State College
California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt also known as Cal Poly Humboldt, Humboldt or Cal Poly"Cal Poly" may also refer to California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, California or California State Polytechnic Universit ...
in Arcata, California
Arcata (; Wiyot language, Wiyot: ''Goudi’ni''; Yurok language, Yurok: ''Oket'oh'') is a city adjacent to the Arcata Bay (northern) portion of Humboldt Bay (United States), Humboldt Bay in Humboldt County, California, Humboldt County, Californ ...
, where he compiled a record of in fifteen seasons. In 1966, he left to coach for a season at Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...
and posted a 4–6 record. Sarboe then returned to northwest California and became a coach and athletic director at the College of the Redwoods
College of the Redwoods (CR) is a public community college with its main campus in Eureka, California. It is part of the California Community Colleges System and serves three counties and has two branch campuses, as well as three additional sit ...
, a junior college in Eureka
Eureka (often abbreviated as E!, or Σ!) is an intergovernmental organisation for research and development funding and coordination. Eureka is an open platform for international cooperation in innovation. Organisations and companies applying th ...
, and retired in 1977.
Death
Sarboe died of cancer at age 74 in 1985 in Spokane.
Head coaching record
College football
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sarboe, Phil
1911 births
1985 deaths
American football defensive backs
American football fullbacks
American football quarterbacks
Boston Redskins players
Brooklyn Dodgers (NFL) players
Central Washington Wildcats football coaches
Chicago Cardinals players
Hawaii Rainbow Warriors and Rainbow Wahine athletic directors
Hawaii Rainbow Warriors football coaches
Humboldt State Lumberjacks football coaches
Humboldt State Lumberjacks men's basketball coaches
Washington State Cougars football coaches
Washington State Cougars football players
College men's basketball head coaches in the United States
High school football coaches in Washington (state)
Sportspeople from Fairbanks, Alaska
Coaches of American football from Alaska
Coaches of American football from Washington (state)
Players of American football from Alaska
Players of American football from Tacoma, Washington
Basketball coaches from Alaska
Basketball coaches from Washington (state)