Kirby Page

Coach: Football – Wrestling – Baseball – Basketball – Track

Kirby Page began teaching and coaching at Linden High School over
60 years ago and little was he aware then of the legacy he would leave on
the football field, baseball diamond, track field, basketball court, and most
profoundly, the wrestling mat. During his college career at Whittier
College, Kirby excelled in Track and Field. After graduating from Whittier
in 1938, Kirby attended UCLA where he received his teaching credential.
He, then, spent five years at Orosi High before Linden became his home.

Kirby became one of the most successful and impressive coaches in
CIF history, being the only coach to win championships in five different
sports. He coached football for 51 seasons, baseball for 25, track for 3,
basketball for 17 and wrestling for 41. It was here on the wrestling mat
where Kirby left his greatest mark. He took over the program for the late
John Phillips and had a limited background in the sport. His love for the
sport was instant, thus, he dedicated himself to become more of an expert
than ever. It was inevitable that Kirby would become one of the most
respected coaches in all California wrestling, and he did. Kirby served on
the committee to combine the North and South for one “True”
Championship, and the California High School Wrestling Championship
exists today largely impart to Kirby and his efforts. Throughout his career,
Kirby organized and hosted many Sub Section and Section Wrestling
tournaments. He, also, was the Head Weigh Master for the State
Championships for 18 years. Even after he retired, Kirby still played a large
part in the wrestling world attending all but the last three State
Championships.

Kirby and his wife, Epsie, were married for 62 years. They have two
sons and two daughters who have blessed them with five grandchildren. In
1986, Kirby and Epsie lost one of their daughters, Wendy. It was 14 years
earlier when Wendy made her dad a bright green paisley shirt so that he
could be easily spotted out at wrestling events. To honor her memory, Kirby
would only wear the shirt during the two days of the State Championships.

Coach Page was the only man to receive the CIF Wrestling “Man of
the Year” award and the California High School Wrestling Coaches
Association award at the same time. In May of 2005, for his outstanding
service to the sport of wrestling, Kirby was selected by the California

Wrestling Hall of Fame to be one of first recipients of the “Lifetime
Achievement Award.” Kirby’s legacy will forever live on in the California
Wrestling Hall of Fame as “The Shirt” is immortalized there. Kirby passed
away on June 10 th , 2006 at the age of 90. Although we no longer see him on
the side of the wrestling mat with a chair set out especially for him, his
presence is still very much a part of Linden wrestling.
The Linden Athletic Hall of Fame is proud and honored to induct Kirby
Page, one of the greatest wrestling coaches in California’s history,
into it’s Athletic Hall of Fame.