American baseball coach (1931?2023)
Cliff Gustafson
|
Born
| (
1931-02-12
)
February 12, 1931
Kenedy, Texas
, U.S.
|
---|
Died
| January 2, 2023
(2023-01-02)
(aged 91)
Austin, Texas
, U.S.
|
---|
|
1952
| Texas
|
---|
|
---|
|
1953?1967
| South San Antonio (TX) HS
|
---|
1968?1996
| Texas
|
---|
|
---|
|
Overall
| 1,466?377?2 (college)
|
---|
|
|
- 2×
College World Series
(
1975
,
1983
)
- 22×
SWC Regular season Champion
(1968?1976, 1979?1988, 1991, 1992, 1996)
- 11×
SWC Tournament champion
(1979?1984, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1994)
|
|
|
|
---|
|
College Baseball Hall of Fame
Inducted in 2006
|
|
Clifford L. Gustafson
(February 12, 1931 ? January 2, 2023) was an American high school and
college baseball
coach who was, for twenty-nine seasons, the head coach of the
Texas Longhorns
, representing the
University of Texas at Austin
.
Early life
[
edit
]
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.
Coaching career
[
edit
]
South San Antonio High School
[
edit
]
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.
[1]
The University of Texas
[
edit
]
In 1968, after hanging up initially on University of Texas football coach & athletic director,
Darrell Royal
(Gustafson thought 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 twenty-two Southwest Conference Championships, a record seventeen College World Series appearances, with finals appearances resulting in two national championships in 1975 and 1983.
[2]
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
. Coach Gustafson has been inducted into the University of Texas Hall of Honor (1983),
[3]
American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame (1992)
[4]
and the Texas Sports Hall of Fame (1994).
[5]
He was named National Coach of the Year in baseball in 1983
[
citation needed
]
and awarded the 1998 James Keller Sportsmanship Award.
[6]
He was also named an inaugural member of the College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006.
[7]
He resigned in disgrace in 1996 amid allegations of financial improprieties.
[8]
Head coaching record
[
edit
]
After coaching
[
edit
]
Until his death, Gustafson resided at his home in Austin, Texas.
Gustafson died on January 2, 2023, at the age of 91.
[10]
Achievements
[
edit
]
National Championships: 1975, 1983
SWC
Championships: 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1991, 1992, 1996
SWC
Tournament championships: 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1994
Collegiate Career Record: (1968?1996): 1466-377-2 (.795)
NCAA tournament Record: 122?55 (.689)
National Coach of the Year: 1982, 1983
College World Series appearances: 1968, 1969, 1970, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1992, 1993
Coached 35 First Team All Americans, 12 Second Team All Americans, and 9 Third Team All Americans
Inducted into the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame.
Inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame.
Named an inaugural member of the
National College Baseball Hall of Fame
in 2006.
Gustafson's Longhorns had a 39?0 record against minor league & semi-pro teams in exhibitions.
In his 1,466 Longhorn games, as coach, Gustafson was never ejected from the game.
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Finger, Mike (June 15, 2015).
"Gustafson built baseball dynasty at South San"
.
San Antonio Express-News
. Retrieved
June 18,
2021
.
- ^
"NCAA Division I Baseball Championship History"
.
NCAA.com
. Retrieved
June 18,
2021
.
- ^
"University of Texas Hall of Honor: Cliff Gustafson"
.
texassports.com
. Retrieved
June 18,
2021
.
- ^
"American Baseball Coaches Association: Cliff Gustafson"
.
abcahalloffame.org
. Retrieved
June 18,
2021
.
- ^
"Texas Sports Hall of Fame: Cliff Gustafson"
.
tshofinductees.org
. Retrieved
June 18,
2021
.
- ^
"Texas Baseball History: Academic Honors"
.
texassports.com
. Retrieved
June 18,
2021
.
- ^
"2006 College Baseball Hall of Fame Inductees"
.
MLB.com
. Retrieved
June 18,
2021
.
- ^
"Texas Coach Quits After Audit"
. Retrieved
June 6,
2024
.
- ^
"Texas Year-By-Year Results"
- ^
Legendary Longhorn baseball coach Cliff Gustafson dies at 91
|
---|
Players
| |
---|
Coaches
| |
---|
Veteran players
(pre-1947 era)
| |
---|
Executives
| |
---|
Umpires
| |
---|