Legendary Former University of Texas Baseball Coach Cliff Gustafson Dies At 91!
Cliff Gustafson, the former winningest college baseball coach and current head coach of Texas, passed away early Monday. He was 91.
Just before five in the morning, Cliff Gustafson Dies on Monday in his sleep from congestive heart failure while his daughters Jann and Jill were by his bedside.
Jann Gustafson Shepperd remarked, “He was exceptional and certainly the best parent.”
Gustafson led Texas from 1968 to 1996, winning 1,466 games and two national championships. His replacement, the late Augie Garrido, and later, former Florida State coach Mike Martin, both broke his record for victories. Gustafson is now eighth among NCAA Division I coaches but ranks fifteenth all-time. He still has the highest victory percentage in Division I history (.792).
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On February 12, 1931, Gustafson was born in Kenedy. Before coaching the Longhorns and carrying on the traditions of Bibb Falk and Billy Disch, he was a successful high school baseball coach at South San Antonio, where his teams won six Class 3A state baseball championships. Darrell Royal, a former UT football coach and athletic director, hired him and even agreed to accept a wage cut to secure the position.
As he was known to his players and supporters, “Coach Gus” was well-known for his meticulousness and intrasquad games that would go on until dusk to get his team ready for anything.
Fans have a deep respect for his No. 18 jersey.
His Longhorn teams won 22 Southwest Conference championships, he was voted the national coach of the year twice, and they won the national championships in 1975 and 1983, two of Texas’ six total national crowns.
Gustafson participated in the 1952 Texas baseball team that won the Southwest Conference title and advanced to the College World Series. He also played basketball in Texas. He had an ankle injury while in college, but he views his time sitting next to Falk on the bench as crucial to his coaching development.
At the only game he attended last year, Texas’ NCAA superregional victory over Air Force, more than 6,000 spectators at UFCU Disch-Falk Field gave him a standing ovation.
Former athletes like Roger Clemens, Brooks Kieschnick, Keith Moreland, and Greg Swindell flocked to Twitter to pay tribute to their mentor after hearing the tragic news of Gustafson’s passing. Greg Abbott, the governor of Texas, declared: “Coach Gus will long remain a Texas legend.”
Coach Gus will be greatly missed. None of these great memories of mine happen without him. Very thankful for his influence in my life! 🤘 @TexasBaseball @TexasLonghorns pic.twitter.com/eapZWgUaSJ
— Roger Clemens (@rogerclemens) January 2, 2023
Tommy Harmon, an All-American catcher and Gustafson’s assistant coach, current Texas coach David Pierce, and UT athletic director Chris Del Conte expressed similar thoughts in a statement issued by the institution.
According to Tommy Harmon, coach Gus is right up there with the finest at The University of Texas regarding all-time outstanding coaches in all sports.
In his lengthy career, Pierce remarked, “He was a terrific coach and an outstanding man who affected so many lives.” In all of college baseball, “Coach Gus genuinely elevated The University of Texas Baseball program to the most renowned brand in the sport.”
Word is out now. Coach Gus. An amazing man passed peacefully this morning with his daughters by his side. A lot of young men lives were changed in the 3, 4, and sometimes more years they spent in his guidance. He will always have a place in my heart. RIP COACH GUS. #18forever pic.twitter.com/Jdul8fmwb3
— greg swindell (@GregSwindell) January 2, 2023
Del Conte added: “Coach Gus is a University of Texas treasure, a College Baseball legend, and a true Longhorn Legend in every sense. What a remarkable career he had, and his long list of achievements includes leading our baseball team to new heights over his 29 years as our head coach. He coached many excellent athletes in his lengthy and illustrious career, and their accomplishments are well-reported.”
Texas has not yet made any announcements regarding funeral arrangements or how it would remember Gustafson throughout the 2017 baseball season.