Legendary Texas coach dies at 91
Former Texas baseball coach Cliff Gustafson, once the winningest college baseball coach of all time, died Jan. 2. He was 91.
Gustafson died of congestive heart failure in his sleep just before 5 a.m. with his daughters Jann and Jill at his bedside.
“He was very unique,” Jann Gustafson Shepperd said, “and just the best dad.”
Gustafson coached at Texas from 1968 until 1996, winning two national championships and 1,466 games. His record for victories was broken by his successor, the late Augie Garrido, and then again by former Florida State coach Mike Martin. Gustafson now ranks 15th all time but eighth among NCAA Division I coaches. His .792 winning percentage is still the best in Division I history.
Gustafson was born in Kenedy on Feb. 12, 1931, and was a successful high school coach at South San Antonio, where he won six Class 3A state baseball championships before taking the Longhorns’ job and continuing the legacy of Bibb Falk and Billy Disch. He was hired by former UT football coach and athletic director Darrell Royal and actually took a pay cut to ensure he would get the job.
“Coach Gus,” as he was known to his players
and fans, was well-known for his attention to detail and his marathon intrasquad games that would last past sundown to prepare his team for any eventuality.
In addition to the national championships – two of Texas’ six overall – in 1975 and 1983, his Longhorn teams won 22 Southwest Conference titles and he was named the national coach of the year twice.
Gustafson also played baseball at Texas and was on the 1952 roster that won the Southwest Conference championship and reached the College World Series. He broke his ankle during his college career but credited his seat on the bench next to Falk as an instrumental time in his coaching preparation.
After the news of his death broke, former players such as Roger Clemens, Brooks Kieschnick, Keith Moreland and Greg Swindell took to Twitter to talk fondly about their coach. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said, “Coach Gus will forever be a Texas legend.”