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RIP Coach Gus

I didn’t see it anywhere else, maybe I missed it, but Coach Gus passed away this morning. 
A class act all around, a great coach, and even a better person and family man. 
RIP Coach. 
Years ago in the mid 80s at the Disch, Texas was playing Arizona St (or Miami, memory ain't what it used to be!) and trailing by 1 or 2 in the bottom of the 9th. They had 2 men on base and I believe the 2nd baseman (not Bates) was at bat. Gus called an offensive TO, talked to the batter and on the next pitch he put it over the leftfield wall to win the game.

After the game they asked Gus "What did you say to him during the TO?" Gus replied, "I told him to hit a HR so we can go home".

Of course there was the classic, "Where are the aggys?" back when they were #1 but lost to LSU in the regional finals to not make the CWS. Classic Gus.

 
I had the honor of having Coach Gus come and see me pitch in HS. Our coach was a former Longhorn player and he had told Gus about me. He told me early in the season that he might pop in on a game, which was exciting for me. Through 12 games he had still not shown up so I figured he moved on to someone else.

Then, I saw him for the first time talking to my coach as we began pre-game. My coach introduced us and I was just in awe. Even back then, I loved Texas.

I didn't end up going to Texas to play baseball. I did play a season at SFA but never ran into Gus again.

 
I was in awe of him as a student attending games. My Dad played against his teams when he coached in San Antonio. RIP Coach

 
The memorial service at Disch-Faulk was really good. Reflected Coach perfectly.

His players said they started practice at 1pm and practiced until dark. At times, he had to call the dining hall to have them keep it open because they were running late.  No NCAA rules against it at the time.

When it rained, and there was water on old Clark Field, Gus would be there at 6:30am putting down bunson burners to bake the field.

Kieschnik.  He had already committed to Ole Miss when Darren called him. He told Darren he had committed and couldn’t go back on his word.  A few minutes later Gus called, and he was awestruck, but said the same thing. Then Gus told him a story, and he agreed to come to Texas.

Great stories. Wonderful memories. 

 
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