FOOTBALL: FOOTBALL LEGEND SHERBECK PASSES

Former Fullerton College football great Coach Hal Sherbeck passed away on Sunday evening peacefully in his sleep in Temecula, California. Coach Sherbeck was 86 years old.

Coach Sherbeck led the Football Hornets from 1961 to 1991 winning three national titles, sixteen conference titles, owned a forty-seven-game unbeaten streak, and amassed 241 total wins, which by the time of his retirement, were the most ever by a community college football coach.

Few coaches at any level have enjoyed the kind of success that became a trademark of Hal Sherbeck's 31 years at Fullerton College. But for Sherbeck, success was nothing new.  At Olympia College in Bremerton, Washington, he lettered in football, baseball and basketball, and again lettered in all three at the University of Montana. 

After graduation, he was hired as head coach of the Missoula High School football team, leading his squad to three state championships in four years.

In 1961, Fullerton College President Dr. H. Lynn Sheller hired Sherbeck as head coach of the Hornet football team, and an era of complete gridiron dominance began.

Sherbeck posted a couple of six-win seasons before the Hornets stumbled in 1963, finishing with a 3-5-1 record.  That would be the only losing season during Sherbeck's tenure at Fullerton.

In 1965, Sherbeck took Fullerton College to the pinnacle of success, winning a national championship with a perfect 10-0 record.  His team also began the forty-seven-game unbeaten streak, with just one tie during that time.

In 1967, Sherbeck led the Hornets to a perfect 12-0 record, garnering his second national championship. The Hornet football dynasty had been established.

In 1983, the Hornets captured their third national championship with a 10-0-1 record.

Sherbeck's teams appeared in thirteen bowl games, and he helped send more than 500 student-athletes on to four-year colleges to continue their academic and athletic careers.  He also coached more than one hundred All-Americans during his reign as the top coach in community college football.

From his first victory in 1961 to his final win, a 45-13 win over Santa Barbara in the 1991 Potato Bowl, Hal Sherbeck epitomized the winning tradition of Hornet football. 

In lieu of flowers, the family has requested that memorial donations be made to the Fullerton College Foundation in Coach Hal Sherbeck's name to help finish the life-size statue of Coach that has been commissioned. The family would like the memorial service to coincide with the unveiling of the statue when it is complete.

Sherbeck is survived by his three children Lori, Eric, and David.

Harold E. Sherbeck 1928-2014.

The Sherbeck Legacy

• 241-70-8 career record (.768)

• Winningest coach in community college history (at time of retirement)

• 3 national titles (1965, 1967, 1983)

• Nationally ranked (top 25) 21 times

• 16 conference titles

• 13 bowl game appearances

• 47-game unbeaten streak (1964-1968)

• Coached more than 100 All-Americans

• Sent more than 500 players to 4-year schools

• 1994 California Community College Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame Inductee

• 2001 California Community College Athletics Association Hall of Fame Inductee

• 2005 Fullerton College Athletics Hall of Fame Inductee (Inaugural class)

• 2005 University of Montana Athletics Hall of Fame Inductee

• 2014 Fullerton College Centennial Hall of Fame Inductee (Inaugural class)

• 2014 Fullerton College Centennial Hall of Fame Inductee (Inaugural class)

Sherbeck Video - Click here

15 Minutes With Coach Sherbeck - Click Here