Cliff Gustafson

Cliff Gustafson is a former Texas high school & college baseball coach who was, for twenty-nine seasons, the head coach of The University of Texas at Austin Longhorn baseball team.

Gustafson, born February 12, 1931, is a native of Kenedy, Texas. He played baseball at UT, 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.

After briefly playing baseball professionally, Gustafson coached at South San Antonio High School for fourteen seasons, winning seven Texas State championships.

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, and two national championships in baseball 1975 and 1983.

Many of Gustafson's players went on to play Major League Baseball. Among that group are Jim Acker, Billy Bates (baseball), 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.

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