1934

Phil Sarboe was born in Fairbanks, Alaska on August 22, 1911 and attended the Lincoln High School in Tacoma, Washington. He played  college football at Washington State University and was a three-sport athlete. On a  scholarship, he also played, and had his greatest success in football, most notably as a fullback. Phil played in the  East–West Shrine Game in January 1934. Although he had some minor league offers to play baseball, he chose to play professional football.

Phil played professional football for the Boston Redskins in 1934 and was traded to the Chicago Cardinals, playing for them in 1934 thru 1936. He finished his pro career with the Brooklyn "Football" Dodgers in 1936.

He began his coaching career in 1937 at Clarkston High School in Washington, then moved west to Aberdeen in 1939. In 1941 and 1942, he coached football at Central Washington College of Education (now  Central Washington University). The 1942 team won the conference title.

The program was suspended after the 1942 season during World War II, and Phil coached in Tacoma at Lincoln High School, his alma mater. He had planned to return to coach the high school team in 1945 and then return to Central Washington when it resumed football in 1946.

Phil was hired as head coach of Washington State in late May, 1946, the first alumnus to head the football program. He had a 17–26–3 record in five seasons and resigned in December 1949. 

He coached a season at North Central High School in Spokane in 1950, then went to Humboldt State College in Arcata, California, for fifteen seasons. In 1966, he left to coach for a season at Hawaii and  then returned to northwest California and became the coach and athletic director at the College of the Redwoods, a junior college in Eureka.

Phil Sarboe retired in 1977 and died of cancer on November 19, 1985, at age 74, in Spokane, Washington.