1968- 1996- Coach Cliff Gustafson

Darrell Royal, then the athletic director at Texas, gets credit for hiring Cliff in 1968. Royal was asked in 1994 if he ever dreamed Gustafson would be so successful. He responded, “Hell, no, If I’d known that, I’d have gone down there in my car to hire him instead of calling him on the phone.”

When Bibb Falk retired following the 1967 season, Texas hired an alum, Cliff Gustafson. It’s one of the most significant coaching hires in college athletics, and he had no NCAA coaching experience. Coach Gus took the Horns to the College World Series in his first year as head coach for the Horns, where the team went 1-2. 

It is called Gusball, and Cliff Gustafson takes great pride in that moniker and the great athletes who played for him. As of 1994, 35 of his players made it to the majors, including Boston’s Roger Clemens and Houston’s Greg Swindell, but he “I’m just as proud of coaching three orthopedic surgeons.”

• 22 Conference titles

• 11 SWC Tournament Championships

• 2 National Championship -( 1975 and 1983)

• NCAA record 17 appearances to the College World Series

• Won-lost record of 1466-377-2 record

• Member of the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame

• 1994 inductee into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame

• 1998 received the James Keller Sportsmanship Award

• Coach makes decisions during his coaching years by statistics and percentages.

John Turman III a friend of Coach Gus says:

I tried to get coach Gus to use a computer for calculating batting averages in scrimmages. He explained to me that while he was calculating the averages by hand it helped him derive different lineups for different game time scenarios – pretty interesting.

One reason the Southwest conference and baseball became more competitive is that the NCAA reduced the number of scholarships from 21 under Bibbs to 13 under Cliff.

1968- 23-11  Coach Cliff Gustafson SWC Champs- district 6 and National tournament

4th Straight SWC in a row and 43rd since 1915

This year is the first time in Texas baseball history that the Longhorns lose their first three SWC games, but the Horns recovered and won the SWC. The youth -Tommy Harmon, Randy Peschel, James Street, and Larry Hardy – lead the team. Texas Tech joins the SWC in baseball competition. Captains are Bob Snoddy, Pat Brown, and George Nauert.

SWC allows freshmen to play varsity baseball. 

Professional baseball agrees not to sign college players until they are 21 or have finished three years of college. 

Longhorns come from behind in 6 of the 12 SWC victories.

Larry James says, “The SWC championship is 5 miles south of town and moving in.” Rains canceled the A & M game, and Texas wins the SWC. 

Pan American in Edinburg, Texas pushes Texas for dominance in college baseball for the next eight years. 

It takes a hit by Gene Salmon in the final district playoff game against Pan American for Texas to win the game. 

College World Series appearance- finish 5th at the CWS. 

Bobby Snoddy (1967) and Pat Brown (1968) are the only duo in Texas baseball history to win the batting average back to back who also played baseball together in high school (Odessa Permian). They were both also captains of the team.

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1969- 40-6 There are Rule changes Coach Cliff Gustafson SWC Champs- District 6 champs and national tournament

The Southwest Conference is more competitive because the NCAA reduces the number of scholarships from 21 to 13. Requiring 8 players who wanted to be a Longhorn each year to choose another college.

Captains are Pat Brown, and Pat Amos

A rule change allows double-headers with non-conference opponents. Therefore the number of games allowed to prepare for SWC play increased from 30 to 42 games.  

Coach Gustafson hones his recruiting skills and convinces high school kids to enjoy the college experience before signing with a professional team. The tactic works, and Burt Hooton, David Chalk, and many other players postpone their professional careers for at least three years of college.

David Hall hits .396 and leads the team in hits, doubles, total bases, and RBI’s.

On paper, this team is one of the best in Texas. Even Bibb Falk said, “I’ve seen some good ones, and I have seen some bad ones, and this may well be the best of all.

Pitchers Hooton and Street are SWC players of the Year. Six players make the All SWC team.

Pat Brown is the only graduating starter on the team. Pat Brown breaks the school career record for hits. 

Street’s 12-2 pitching record ties a school record. Hooton was 12-0

The team is ranked number 1 

James Street pitches a no-hitter against SMU. 

Texas loses to Tulsa at the World Series and then to NYU on the worse umpire call in the history of the CWS. Ten thousand fans saw the NYU first baseman drop the ball before making a tag on Miller to end the game, but the umpire calls Miller out. Coach Gustafson protest the call, and the refs huddle to discuss the play, but none saw the loose ball, and the games committee would not over-rule the wrong call. Texas loses.

1970- 45-8 Coach Cliff Gustafson 45th SWC Championship in 55 years- district six playoffs and national tournament 

A great team, but critical injuries hurt performance. James Street pulled groin muscle, Hooton battled tendinitis, and Chalk missed crucial playing time with tonsillitis.

Captains are Tom Harmon and Pat Amos 

The pitching staff on this team holds the lowest ERA (1.88) record during The Modern Era. 

David Chalk leads the team in batting average (.354), One of the greatest natural hitters in Longhorn Baseball history. He was an All American in 1971 and 1972 and All SWC for three straight years.

Hooton makes first-team All-American, Tommy Harmon second team, and David Chalk third team. Langerhans, Bagwell, Chalk, Hall, Miller, Hooton, and Street make the All-SWC team. 

Chalk led the team in hitting with a .337 average.

David Chalk was a two-time captain for the Longhorns and a rare four-year player for someone of his ability. He sits sixth all-time in career batting average for Texas, hitting .362 during his time in burnt orange. Chalk hit three homers in a game once and led the Longhorns in stolen bases in 1971 with 12. He was a first-team All-American in 1971 and 1972 and won All-Southwest Conference first-team honors all four years of his college career.

Chalk was elected to the Texas Baseball Hall of Fame in 2002. His daughter, Brittany was a softball player for the Longhorns and wore number three just like her dad did.

Ten players on this team played professional baseball with Hooton pitching for the World Series-winning Los Angeles Dodgers.

A HARD TAG GETS STREET AND HARMON IN TROUBLE WITH SWC.

Tommy Harmon uses a “hard” tag on a Baylor player, and an angry Baylor coach runs toward home plate to protest the tag. James Street sees the coach running at Harmon and reacts instinctively and accidentally hits the Baylor coach in the stomach. The play makes national news. Street apologizes to the Baylor Coach, but the coach refuses his apology. Harmon and Street are cleared of willful misconduct by an SWC committee, but both received probation. David Chalk is an All American in 1971 and 1972.

Lou Bagwell is an Academic All American, All American, and receives an NCAA Post Graduate Scholarship Award.

 SWC champion Texas beats Pan American in the District playoff. 

After winning their first three games of the 1970 CWS against Delaware, Ohio, and Florida State, Texas lost to eventual champion USC in 14 innings, 8-7, and lost 11-2 to Florida State.

Ten players sign professional contracts.

1971- 33-11 Coach Cliff Gustafson SWC Champs- district 6 Champs and National tournament play. 

1971 is a roller coaster year that ends with a deep dip. The team starts the year losing 3 out of 4 games to Pan American. The team was 8-6 after three weeks of baseball.

Captains are D. Chalk and J. Langerhans. 

This is one of the best hitting teams in Texas baseball history, except for Hooton, the organization lacked experience at pitching. Hooton suffered his first SWC defeat. Alan Lowry helps shore up the outfield. Burt Hooton pitches two seven-inning no-hitters. The team wins 25 of the last 28 games and sets a conference hitting a record of .333. Walt Rothe won the conference batting championship with a .485 average and 33 base hitsCoach Gustafson says that the pitching duel between Texas Tech’s Reuben Garcia and Texas Burt Hooten is the most magnificent pitching performance he ever witnessed. Texas wins the SWC but loses to Pan American in the district playoffs. Pan America managed two shut-outs against the best hitting team in Longhorn history.

The man nicknamed “Happy” by Tommy Lasorda because he rarely smiled is one of the best Longhorn pitchers of all time. Hooton had a win-loss record of 35-3 in his three seasons at Texas. He holds the lowest career earned run average in Longhorn history, with a 1.14 ERA. He once struck out 19 batters in a game which is tied for Texas best, and Hooton’s opponents only batted .158 against him in his career, which is also the best all-time for a Texas pitcher. Hooton’s 13 career shutouts are one shy of the NCAA record (held by Greg Swindell, also a Longhorn).

Hooton was taken second overall by the Cubs in the 1971 MLB draft, which is still tied for the best pick a Longhorn has ever been in the draft.

Burt Hooton is the first pitcher in college baseball history to be named All American three years in a row. Hooton’s number 20 has been retired by Texas, and he was inducted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2008.

It is Gustafson’s baseball team’s first absence from the CWS in 5 years.

Arizona State head coach says that Hooton is the “best college pitcher we’ve ever faced- or seen,”

1971  John Langerhans leads the team in batting (.413) 

Walt Rothe sets a conference record with 33 hits.

1972- 50-9 Coach Cliff Gustafson Co-SWC Champs- district 6 playoff and national tournament

This is the first team in Longhorn sports history to win 50 games. Luck was part of the equation this year in reaching the CWS. Texas was Co-SWC champs because SMU in the bottom of the 9th beat the league-leading TCU Horned Frogs. It was the Longhorns 47th championship in 57 years. Pitching is inconsistent, but batting is not. 4 Longhorns are in the top 10 race for the SWC batting championship- Chalk, Berryhill, Markl, and Pyka. This team starts the season 17-1 but fades in the middle of the season due to pitcher injuries.

Captains are D. Chalk and M. Markl.

Charlie Crenshaw V is the brother of the great golfer Ben Crenshaw. Charlie played CF and RF for the Longhorn baseball team from ’70-‘73. During a game with Baylor, their fans starting screaming at Charlie, “Hey!!! How come you’re not caddying for your brother Ben?!?!?!” Charlie responded by hitting a home run and “saluting” the Bear fans with a profound universal gesture as he ran the basis.

Coach Gus had severe discipline problems with this team and threatened the team with canceling the trip to Omaha if they did not adhere to his rules. 

Berryhill leads the team in hitting with a .366 and is honored as a 3rd team All-American.

Gus always had the strictest of policies and a hair code. Long sideburns were out. Mutton chops were forbidden. BerryHill’s hair length bothered Coach Gus. One morning, Berryhill arrived at the ballpark and noticed that his uniform wasn’t in his locker. He approached trainer Spanky Stephens, who told him to take it up with Coach.

“I don’t see the relationship between my ability to hit a baseball and the length of my hair,” Berryhill told Gus defiantly.

Responded Gus, “Well, in your case, we’re not going to find out.”

David Chalk left Texas with a school-record career batting average of .362 and as a first-team All-American.

Markl, Berryhill, Pyka, Pape, and Rznovsky made the All-SWC team.

The team wins SWC barely beats their baseball nemesis Pan Am and then loses to Connecticut and USC in the CWS. Texas went 2-2 in Omaha almost eliminating USC in 10 innings. Texas loses 4-3.

1973- 50-7 Coach Cliff Gustafson SWC Champs-

1973 – Aluminum bats officially allowed

Texas won the SWC 48 out of 58 years.

The Horns started this season with two losses to Sam Houston State followed by 20 straight wins.

This year Ron Roznovsky throws a no-hitter and ties some other great pitchers with the most victories in a season.

Houston joins the SWC.

Jim Gideon shares his story at the link below.

https://www.texaslsn.org/1974-jim-gideon-baseball

The team sets a  modern school record with 20 consecutive victories. At 45-5 going into the playoffs, this was the winningest team in school history.

Team Captain is Steve Clancy.

The 1973 recruiting class was one of the best in the history of Longhorn baseball. After the National Championship game in 1975, all but three members of this class signed professional contracts. 

This team equals the W-L record of the great 1972 with a different cast of players.

Captain Ron Roznovsky sets a school pitching record with 13 wins and throws a no-hitter.

Freshman Keith Moreland and Ron Roznovsky are All-Americans.

Keith set school records for a season with 209 at-bats and 73 hits with a .405 batting average. Ron set a school record with a 14-0 record and one no-hitter.

 Texas once again has to overcome Pan American to make the CWS. Texas wins the Pan American game in 13 innings, 14-12. For the third time in three trips, Texas fell to USC; Texas went 2-2 in the tournament. It is Texas 16th visit to the College World Series. They lose to USC and Arizona State but tie for 3rd in the series.

1974 – 54-8 SwC Champions- district 6 playoff and national tournament

1974-  The designated hitter rule was implemented and a limited substitution rule was authorized.

This team starts slowly, and Terry Pyka says, “The key is unity. There have been many great individuals in the past, and this year’s team is no exception. After our losses to Tech and Arkansas, we realized we had to come together to win the conference. We just had to get it together, and we did.”

Top of the charts 1974

Pitcher Ed Gideon only allows 1.94 walks a game. https://www.texaslsn.org/1974-jim-gideon-baseball

The use of Aluminum bats is approved, and eight individual seasonal hitting records are broken, and 17 seasonal team records fall, including 629 hits, 128 doubles, 66 home runs, best batting average .319, and a best slugging percentage of .508. 

Texas beats A & M to win the SWC championship in the last SWC game at Clark Field. The Horns dominate the Aggies 60-22-4 at Clark Field. 

During the 47 year history of Clark Field, Texas wins the SWC 37 of 46 times. Twenty-two of those Texas teams participate in the NCAA playoffs, and won 2 National Championships. 

Jim Gideon ties an NCAA record with 19 victories for the season.

The fans go nuts after the final game at Clark Field and start taking souvenir pieces of Billy Goat Hill.  

Rick Bradley leads the Horns in hitting with a 414 average. In pitching, the Horns led the SWC in the fewest runs and fewest walks.

Texas beats Pan America and Louisiana Tech in district play on the road to the CWS tournament. Once again, Texas faced USC in an elimination game, and once again, the Trojans won a thriller, 5-3, en route to its fifth straight title. Texas lost to USC to open the tournament 9-2 but battled back with blowout wins over Seton Hall and Oklahoma to get to a rematch.

Texas finishes 4th at CWS. 

https://www.texaslsn.org/tom-ball-baseball

https://www.texaslsn.org/tom-ball-baseball-interview

Keith Moreland (1973-1975)

The outfielder and occasional third baseman led his team in batting average in every year he played in Austin and improved his already stellar hitting with every season. His continued success culminated with a .410 average in 1975, the fourth-best all-time for a Texas player. His .388 career batting average ranks third for all Texas players, only behind Brian Cisarik (.389), and Dustin Majewski (.395). The Longhorns won the national championship in 1975 thanks to Moreland’s stellar play, and Moreland was an All-American in all three of his seasons at Texas.

. A College Baseball Hall of Fame member, Moreland’s number three jersey was retired by Texas in 2010.

Keith Moreland is an All American who sets 5 individual season records and 7 career batting records and is inducted into the Omaha College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2016. His jersey number 3 is retired in 2010.

David Reeves is an All American

1974-1975-  59-6 National champs Coach Gus is SWC Coach of the Year.

First-year to play in Disch-Falk Field – Captains are J. Gideon and K. Moreland.

Big Bats and great pitching are a National Championship combination this year.

After 25 years and 14 appearances with no trophy in the NCAA tournament, Texas is National Champion. 

Mark Griffin

In the 1975 NCAA College World Series, Mark Griffin played a pivotal role in securing victory for the Texas Longhorns. His clutch performances were crucial in their championship run:

• Championship Game Against South Carolina:

  • With the game on the line, Mark Griffin delivered not one but two important hits that swung the momentum in favor of the Longhorns.

  • These hits were critical in crucial situations, driving in runs and keeping the Longhorns’ offense alive.

  • Griffin’s contributions were instrumental in securing the College World Series title for Texas.

• Bill LITTLE SAYS

“But there was one other guy who made a difference” in the CWS.

In the Longhorns’ win over South Carolina that led to an eventual championship game, a power-hitting outfielder was struggling at the plate. Gustafson called time out, and with a count of 0-2 on the batter, called on Mark Griffin, a little guy whose limited career had produced only a .263 batting average. And he sent him to the plate. With only one strike left, he laced a single that plated a run, and ignited a six-run rally. 

 Jim Gideon is the SWC Player of the Year. Keith Moreland, Ricky Bradley, Garry Pyka, Mickey Reichenbach, and Martin Flores were all SWC.

The team moves to The Disch-Falk Field, and the Horn skill-set changes with the new stadium. The “Cactus” annual states that more emphasis is put on “speed, defense, and pitching” and controlled hitting than Clark Field. Horns are 23-1 in SWC play. Six members of this team are selected to the All SWC team. Gustafson’s record after this season is 342-65. Jim Gideon is 12-0, and Wortham is 10-0.

First at Disch-Falk Field 

The first victory against St. Mary’s on Feb. 17, 1975; Blair Stouffer got the first hit and first home run; pitcher Jim Gideon the first victory. 

During SWC play, Texas’s batting average is sub-par going into the Baylor game. Coach Gustafson speculates that one of the reasons is that- like wood bats -aluminum bats have a limited useful life. He instructs the managers to take only new aluminum bats to Waco. Texas beats Baylor in all three games, scores 44 runs on 50 hits with 11 home runs. 

This team holds the Longhorn record for most triples ( 51), highest batting average (.325), and most shutouts (16)

Texas wins the SWC and again beats Pan American in the South Central Regionals. 

 The CWS starts with an inauspicious beginning with undefeated Wortham losing in the second game to Arizona State, followed by a sloppy win 12-11 over Seton Hall. This year mirrors the failures of the other great Longhorn teams that collapsed at the CWS.

Coach Gus could feel the stress building up on the team and recognized he needed to loosen everyone up. Coach Gus said to his team, “ if I were a drinking man, I’d go out and get drunk tonight.” Many players did as instructed, and the rest is college baseball history. Texas defeats South Carolina 17-6, wins the flip and the Bye based on Spanky Stephens lucky feeling, and defeats South Carolina again 5-1.

Texas takes a .328 batting average, and an earned run average of 1.74 to Omaha. The Longhorns went 4-1 in Omaha, the only loss coming to Arizona State, 5-2. Texas won a 12-10 game over Seton Hall to reach the championship round against South Carolina.

Mickey Reichenbach was named Most Outstanding Player for Texas, who also boasted a roster that included Keith Moreland, Jim Gideon, Don Kainer and Rich Wortham. Texas finished the season 59-6 overall.

Richard Wortham suffered a leg injury in a fall when an elevator broke while he is working at Gregory Gym. At one point, the doctors questioned if he would ever walk again. He did more than walk again, finishing the season with a 14-1 record, and he pitches a four-hitter to win the national championship for the Longhorns. Keith Moreland sets five individual seasons and seven career batting records, including a .388 career batting average.

Reichenbach’s home run is at 1:40

Jim Gideon ties an NCAA record with 19 victories in 1974. He is both an Academic All American and  All American in 1974 and 1975.

1976- 48-16 -Victory Lane and Defeat Avenue- 51st Swc championship- Southwest regional playoffs.

The team starts at 16-2, but injuries to Keith Moreland, Blair Stouffer, Rick Bradley, and Jim Gideon put the team in a significant slump. OU beats the Horns for the first time in 4 years, and for the first time since 1960, there is no Texas school in the CWS.

Wendell Hibbett ties an SWC record with 3 home runs in one game. The Horns tie a school record with 25 hits in one game.

 For most baseball teams, a 48-16 record would be excellent, but it was his worse year to date for Gustafson. Over a 23 game stretch, the Horns were 13-10.

Captain Richard Wortham is an All-American. He was inducted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2010. He holds the career record of most innings pitched (456.2) and most career victories (50).

A four-year starting pitcher from 1973-1976, Wortham appeared in 75 games for the Longhorns and played an integral part in the 1975 national championship.

Captain Doug Duncan is an Academic All-American in 1975 and 1976.

Proske, Pyka, and Reichenback make the All SWC team.

This Longhorn team sets a school record for 25 hits in one game.

Texas is the SWC champion, but the Longhorns lose to OU in the Regionals.

1977- 53-10- The wild bunch (fans, not the team)

1977-  Once told, “you can’t’ win them all.” Cliff replied “you can if you are good enough,” and he’s been out to prove the theory ever since.

 He took his Longhorns to the 17 College World Series. When he retired in 1996, he had won more games than Billy Disch, and Bibb Falk combined with a record of 1466 wins, 377 losses, and two ties.

In the early 1950s, three men participating in the same game, sharing a moment that would touch Texas baseball for 80 years. 

10,000 fans show up to watch the Texas Rangers play the Longhorns. The rangers win 9-4. It is a costly game for the Horns losing pitcher Bob Heuck with a torn tendon in his throwing arm that ended his baseball career.

NCAA reduces the number of Scholarships in baseball from 20 to 13. 

Texas breaks the NCAA record by winning 34 games in a row, but for the first time since 1964, Texas does not win the SWC or make the playoffs. 

The wild bunch was a group of fans that’s existence will live in infamy. This group hated the Aggies and mocked them and the Aggie traditions during the games. These Horns were poor sports, and ironically this year, with a record of 53-10, the Horns lost the SWC to the Aggies.

With a 39-1 record, Sports Illustrated once again was a jinx to a great season. Sportswriter Doug Looney joined the Longhorn team for the Texas A & M baseball series. A & M won 2 of 3 games, and the Sports Illustrated story was not written. In truth, the assistant sports director who handled baseball for Texas said this team was not really that good, but they did not know it. To paraphrase Dick Siebert, the Minnesota baseball coach -records like this happen in sports with everything breaking your way. Many times, the momentum changes, and everything starts to go against you.

This is the first year for the SWC post-season tournament. Texas places 2nd in the tournament.

Rocky Thompson sets a record by not striking out the entire season.

Captain Wendell Hibbett and Don Kainer make the All SWC team. C.Proske is the other Captain of the team.

Mickey Reichenbach sets a career school record for runs batted in. Jones leads the team in hitting with a .353 average. Dan Kainer and Tony Brizzolara each led the team in pitching, winning 15 games and losing 2.

1978- 36-17  A season of frustration with a foot fault to end the season

Captains of the team are Mark Chelette and Chris Raper.

Horns finish in 5th place in the SWC.  The baseball team did not have one sweep of an SWC team this year.  The batting average is  .211 for 7th place in the SWC.

Ronnie Gardenhire is injured three times- nose, wrist, and thumb, but manages to set an SWC record by driving in 10 runs in a win over Arkansas.

Pitcher Ricky Wright tore up a knee, and his older brother Kem had arm trouble.

At one point, this team was 4-8 in the SWC.

Gustafson receives a lot of criticism from the fans this year,  but the players support him and take most of the blame for a poor year. 

Andre Robertson is Texas’ first black baseball player to receive a scholarship to Texas. HOH inductee 

Though Robertson never eclipsed a .300 average in burnt orange, he was a more promising professional prospect then many on the Longhorn team. Professionally he did well suffering a broken neck in a car crash that ended his career. He was also the first black player to receive a full scholarship for baseball at Texas,

 History says that Gralyn Wyatt was the first black baseball player at Texas, but Gralyn never lettered or received a scholarship.

Andre Robertson is the first black baseball player who received a scholarship to Texas and endured racist slurs from fans in a still tense time in American history.

In the Texas Tech game, the umpire on a perfect double-play ball for the Horns says that Andre Robertson’s foot was not on the base and called the runner safe at second. The lousy call cost them a qualifying spot in the SWC baseball tournament.

Robertson batted around .330, but his glove caught 1.000.  In the Texas Tech game, the umpire on a perfect double-play ball for the Horns says that Andre Robertson’s foot was not on the base and called the runner safe at second. The bad call cost them a qualifying spot in the SWC baseball tournament.

Robertson batted around .330, but his glove caught 1.000.

Creel is the team’s MVP and only All-SWC player.  

The Leading hitter is Joe Bruno. In all his years as the Longhorn coach, Gus says Joe Bruno is one of his most impressive players with a .348 batting average and 27 stolen bases. 

Austin American wrote an article about Longhorn baseball titled “Death of a Dynasty.” The Austin American is wrong again.

The team only had one member selected to the All SWC team in 1978.

1979- 61-8 SWC champs and 4th in the nation- central regional playoff and national tournament. 

That first “Central Regional,” as it was called, featured Pan American, Lamar, and BYU. Texas hosted 16 straight regionals in the first two decades at Disch-Falk until the streak was broken in 1995 when Texas traveled to Oklahoma City.

This team set the Longhorn season record for most victories. After the season is over, 10 players from this team enter the draft.

Pitcher Rickey Wright is lost for the season with a knee injury.

As of the end of the 1979 season Coach Gus’s record was 542 and 115.  Pitching was key this year.  Ricky Wright throws a no-hitter against Rice. 

The 1979 starting lineup is basically the same as 1978. 

This team wins 30 of the first 31 games.

Joe Bruno sets a season record with 33 stolen bases.

A rule change allows two staff coaches on the field at the same time. Basketball coach Abe Lemons says it is about time “ If my team screws up, I’m right out there for all the fans to see, yell at, and throw things at. If Coach Gus screws up, he just hides in the dugout, and nobody can see him.”

The Aggie coach says that the 1979 Longhorn pitching staff is the best he has seen in his 21 years of coaching. 

Three of the four teams in the SWC tournament are in the top 20. Baylor won the last two baseball tournaments, but the Longhorns won this one.

Texas earns the right to play in the CWS. This is the Longhorn’s 25th time competing for the National Championship and the 18th appearance in the CWS tournament.

After winning their first two games against Connecticut and Mississippi State, Texas lost to Arkansas and Pepperdine to finish 4th. Cal State Fullerton won its first title.

It wrapped a decade in which Texas reached the CWS six times.

Jerry Gleaton is 13-1 as the Longhorn pitcher and a first-team All-American.

Wright, Salazar, Gardenhire, and Bruno made the All SWC team. 

Ten players from this team signed professional contracts—the most every as of 1979. 

Captain Ron Gardenhire sets an SWC record in 1979 by driving in 10 runs against Arkansas. Mark Chelette is the other captain of the team. 

1980- 53-13  SWC Champs for the 53rd time. central regional playoff

21 of 39 players are rookies.

Gustafson has his 600th victory.

Keith Creel is 16-1 as a pitcher. Dave Seiler has a no-hitter against SMU. Coach Gustafson says, “I am probably prouder of this conference championship team than I am of any of them because of the circumstances.” Coach did not expect this team to do well, and their steady, methodically winning process surprised him.

A ball hits Coach Gustafson in the eye, but he recovers near the end of the SWC season.

Bill Bethea does a great job of coaching the team. Texas is the SWC champion, but Texas loses to Hawaii in the regionals.

Captain Ricky Nixon and Randy Richards hit .344 and .345, respectively. Creel was a 2nd team All -American, and David, Nixon, Campbell, and Zatopek were All SWC.

1981- 61-11-1 Coach Gus -” the most exciting team I ever coached.” The team was a central regional playoff and national tournament.

In 1981 Mark Reynolds had a .345 batting average with 17 doubles, 7 home runs, and 55 batted in but in 1982 he suffered a fractured left foot. According to team members, Mark is as good a fastball hitter as they have seen.

A team of Scramblers “Everyone seemed capable of playing one game at a level beyond his capabilities. so that games were forever being won by someone of whom little was expected.”

With the exception of Tony Arnold, pitching this year was problematic with hitting the key to success. 

This team comes from behind in 28 of 61 games won.

Texas wins the 54th SWC in 66 years.

Texas beats Stanford in the regionals.

Texas beats Rice in 19 innings to clinch the  SWC tournament championship. 

The Longhorns reached the CWS seven times in the 1980s, won one title, and finished runner-up three times. Tony Arnold pulled a groin muscle in the CWS before the Miami game, and Mike Withrow replaced him. Texas lost to Arizona State 11-2 to open the tournament but bounced back to win three games in a row, beating Michigan, Miami (Fla.), and Oklahoma State before losing again to eventual champion Arizona State 12-3.

Captain Buck Goldthorn led the team in batting with a .354 average.

Arnold, Goldthorn, Owen, and Culley were All SWC.

1982 59-6- Coach Gus – The Enigma. 55th SWC championship- central regional playoff and national tournament.

1982—At the beginning of the season, the team was hitting a paltry .249 in the SWC because Mark Reynolds had a broken foot and missed his power hitting. Entering the playoffs, Kirk Killingsworth led the team in hitting and pitching.

 The team was composed of 13 freshmen and 5 seniors.

Roger Clemens was not recruited out of Spring Woods High School, so he went to Jacinto Junior College to pitch until Cliff offered him a scholarship.

The home attendance record for a single game, 8000 fans, is set against OU. Texas wins the game 8-0.

Texas wins 33 games in a row. The 2nd longest in NCAA history. This year

At one point in the season, Gustafson said that his pitching staff was thin even with sophomore Roger Clemens and Calvin Schiraldi.  A bunt against the Aggies results in a homer for the Longhorns.   Longhorn Livermore says, “leave it to the Aggies to turn a bunt into a homer. I’ve seen that in Little League, but nowhere else.”

Spike Owens sets school records for runs scored (250) and stolen bases and only commits 7 errors in 250 chances. Spike receives All-American honors.

Kirk Killingsworth, Mike Brumley, and Mike Capel make the All-SWC team.

Randy Day is one of the two captains of the team.

Coach Gustafson is Coach of the Year.

Texas is projected to win the tournament. Texas beats Oklahoma State and Stanford but is eliminated in 24 hours by Miami and Wichita State.