John Kolb lettered 12 times in football, basketball and baseball, winning All-Northwest Conference honors in football and basketball before graduating in 1941. He played pro baseball for the Salem Senators the summer following his graduation and in 1947 played professional basketball in Salem. Kolb later became an NCAA football official for 25 years and officiated NCAA basketball for over 20 years. Before moving into a role as an observer of Pacific-10 Conference officials, he officiated the 1971 Rose Bowl featuring Stanfordís Jim Plunkett and two East-West Shrine football games. Kolb was still working as an observer until he died of cancer May 19, 1989 at the age of 71. Kolb was an active member of Cardinal Round Table- Willametteís athletic booster club- and was a PGA teaching professional at Oak Knoll Golf Course for 20 years.