Athlete 1963 - 1966
Had Linfield Athletics Hall of Fame inductee Jay Gustafson chosen to listen to his high school counselor’s recommendation to not attend college and work instead at his father’s grocery store, perhaps Linfield’s 1966 national baseball championship may never have come to fruition.
A four-year baseball letterman from 1963 through 1966 and three-year starting center fielder, Gustafson was a key contributor to the 1966 NAIA championship team. Hall of Fame coach Roy Helser
described Gustafson as “a player who could hit, throw, run and field as well as anyone I have ever coached.”
Not only did he love playing baseball, he also loved practicing for hours on end. It was perhaps through that love for games and practices that the foundation for an all-around baseball player was built. Said former Linfield athletic
director Paul Durham, “no team the Wildcats have played, including Oregon and Oregon State, has a better center fielder than Jay Gustafson. He may be the best all-around baseballer in the colleges of the Northwest.”
Gustafson’s teams won the conference championship in each of his four years as a Wildcat. The most glorious of the four seasons was 1966, when Gustafson had the opportunity to reach the pinnacle of college baseball by winning a national championship.
Following his senior season, Gustafson was selected for a bevy of awards, including NAIA Oregon District All-Tournament first team, NAIA West Coast Regional All-Tournament first team, NAIA National All-Tournament first team, and NAIA All-America first team. Statistically, he was the fifth-leading hitter
nationally with a .417 average and went on to receive the Jack Marshall Award as Linfield’s Most Inspirational Player.
Gustafson was invited to attend a tryout with the Eugene Emeralds, a minor league affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies and St. Louis Cardinals. Eventually, he returned to Linfield to attend graduate school, serving under legendary Coach Ad Rutschman as a graduate assistant in both football and baseball.
The impact of coaches Helser, Durham, Rutschman and Ted Wilson impacted Gustafson throughout his professional career as a teacher and coach for 33 years. His most notable accomplishment came as a teacher and coach from 1976 through 2000 at David Douglas High School, where he was assistant coach for the Scots’ 1977 state championship team. Today, he lives in Vancouver, Washington, with his wife, Lois.
