Gustafson was wife of UT baseball coach

JANIE GUSTAFSON: 1936-2012

Janie Gustafson, the wife of former Texas Longhorns baseball coach Cliff Gustafson, died Wednesday after a lengthy illness. She was 76.

Jann Shepperd, one of the Gustafsons’ two daughters, said her mother died at the couple’s home in Austin. She is survived by her husband; her daughters, Shepperd and Jill Balderama; and seven grandchildren. A son, Deron, died in 2008 after suffering from liver disease.

Janie and Cliff Gustafson were married on Sept. 19, 1959. They met in San Antonio, where Janie was an elementary school teacher and Cliff was a high school baseball coach, Shepperd said. Janie Gustafson later taught at Crockett High School in Austin.

Cliff Gustafson became the Longhorns’ head coach before the 1968 season. He led Texas to College World Series championships in 1975 and 1983 while compiling an overall record of 1,466377.

After leading Texas to the College World Series an unprecedented 17 times, Gustafson retired after the 1996 season as the winningest coach in college baseball.