Coach Gustafson dies at 91

Former University of Texas baseball coach Cliff Gustafson, once the winningest college baseball coach of all time, died on Monday at the age of 91.

Gustafson coached at Texas from 1968 until 1996 where he won two national championships and 1,466 games, a record that was later 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 Division I coaches. His .792 winning percentage still remains the best in Division I history.

Gustafson was hired by former football coach and athletic director Darrell Royal and actually took a pay cut to insure 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 SWC 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.

He was given a standing ovation by more than 6,000 fans at UFCU Disch-Falk Field last June when he attended Texas’ win over Air Force in the NCAA super regional tournament, the only game he attended last season.