Cliff Gustafson

Gustafson was a native of Kenedy, Texas. He attended the University of Texas at Austin and played college baseball for the Texas Longhorns, including the 1952 team that won the Southwest Conference championship and reached the College World Series. Gustafson posted a .308 batting average for his collegiate career and went on to play professional baseball in 1953.^[1]

After briefly playing baseball professionally, Gustafson embarked on a successful 14-year-high school coaching career that began in 1953 at South San Antonio High School in San Antonio, Texas. During his 14 seasons at South San, Gustafson's teams won the Class 3A State Championships an impressive seven times: 1958, 1959, 1961, 1963, 1964, 1966,1967.^[2]

In 1968, after hanging up initially on University of Texas football coach and athletic director Darrell Royal, thinking it was a prank phone call, Gustafson took a pay cut to coach the baseball team at The University of Texas at Austin. While there, he led the Longhorns to 22 Southwest Conference Championships, a record 17 College World Series appearances, with finals appearances resulting in national championships in 1975 and 1983.^[3]

Many of Gustafson's players went on to play Major League Baseball. Among that group are Jim Acker, Billy Bates, Mike Brumley, Mike Capel, Roger Clemens, Dennis Cook, Scott Coolbaugh, Keith Creel, Kirk Dressendorfer, Ron Gardenhire, Jim Gideon, Jerry Don Gleaton, Burt Hooton, Bob Kearney, Brooks Kieschnick, Keith Moreland, Calvin Murray, Spike Owen, Karl Pagel, Mark Petkovsek, Shane Reynolds, Andre Robertson, Bruce Ruffin, Calvin Schiraldi, J.D. Smart, Greg Swindell, Jose Tolentino, Richard Wortham, and Ricky Wright. Gustafson has been inducted into the University of Texas Hall of Honor (1983),^[4] American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame (1992)^[5] and the Texas Sports Hall of Fame (1994).^[6] He was named National Coach of the Year in baseball in 1983 by Collegiate Baseball^[7] and awarded the 1998 James Keller Sportsmanship Award.^[8] He was also an inaugural member of the College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006.^[9]

Gustafson resigned in July 1996 amid a dispute regarding the financial arrangement related to his summer baseball camp.^[10][11]

Until his death, Gustafson resided at his home in Austin, Texas.

Gustafson died on January 2, 2023, at the age of 91.^[13][7]