Cliff Gustafson died in his sleep on Monday. He was 91.
Cliff Gustafson coached Texas from 1968 until 1996, winning two National Championships and 1,466 games. At one time, he was the winningest coach in college baseball history. Since then, Augie Garrido, who replaced Gus as the Texas baseball coach, has held the record, as well as Florida State coach Mike Martin.
The irony is that Gustafson might not have been the Longhorns coach had it not been for then-AD Darrell Royal, who took a personal pay cut so that he could fit Gustafson’s salary into the Longhorn’s athletic budget.
Gustafson earned the nickname “Gusball” and a song was recorded about it. I remember being a Dish-Falk Field when my older brother played for Texas, and that song blared over the loudspeaker system every time the Longhorns earned a victory at home.
Gustafson’s .792 winning percentage is still the best in Division I history. His teams won 22 Southwest Conference titles, and he was named the National College Coach of the Year twice.
A great mentor, Gustafson will be remembered as one of college baseball’s best all-time coaches.
