Hall of Fame
One of many prodigious power hitters that graced the Vulcan baseball field over the years was Dan Gustovich, who starred at first base and as a designated hitter for Cal from 1978 through 1981.
A four year starter, Gustovich played a key role on some of the finest Vulcan teams in school history.
Gustovich, who played two years for both Mitch Bailey and Chuck Gismondi, helped the 1978 squad compile a fine 23-12 overall record after a 2-2 start.
As a sophomore, Gustovich was the Vulcans’ fourth-leading hitter with a .300 batting average and led the team in at-bats (140) and runs batted in with 36. The 1979 Vulcans went 29-16 overall, won the school’s first and only PSAC championship, and finished a solid second at the NCAA Division II Mid-Atlantic Regional.
Gustovich would produce even more impressive numbers during Gismondi’s first season as the head coach. He helped the Vulcans achieve a sixth-straight winning season with a 22-13 overall record in 1980. Now one of the most feared sluggers in the PSAC, Gustovich batted a team-high .381 and led the PSAC with 10 home runs. He was also the Vulcans’ team leader in at-bats (118), hits (45), doubles (9), and runs batted in (41).
As a senior, Gustovich batted .321 with 15 extra-base hits and a team-high 17 walks as the Vulcans’ won 23 games, including an impressive 9-2 divisional record en route to the PSAC-West title. For the second time in three years, Cal advanced to the PSAC championship game but lost to Shippensburg.
“From a team standpoint I guess the 1979 season would have to stand out because that was the first time any Cal baseball team won a state championship,” said Gustovich. “My junior year I was able to put up some nice numbers and I finished with a lot of records which was very gratifying.”
He finished his prolific career with school career records in home runs (14), at-bats (484), doubles (30), and runs batted in (124) along with a solid .318 career batting average. A two-time all-region and all-conference selection, Gustovich received the President’s Cup Award and Most Valuable Player team honors each of his final two seasons. During Gustovich’s four years, Cal compiled an impressive 97-58-1 (.625) cumulative record with two division titles and the coveted state title.
In a short time period, Gustovich had come a long way after batting just .256 as a freshman.
“Being a team from the north could be a big disadvantage,” Gustovich said. “You never knew about the weather and had to play a ton of doubleheaders. If you got off to a shaky start, your whole season could be ruined as far as statistics were concerned.”
In the spring of 1981, Gustovich earned his bachelor’s degree in fine arts. Continuing the Cal baseball tradition meant more to Gustovich than the many records he established.
“When I started playing, there were so many good players on the team,” said Gustovich, who claimed that the baseball team was his fraternity. “People like Steve Luko, Dan Urbine, Mark Echols and a lot others. It was great to play with those guys and take what they started and continue the success.”
Gustovich played for two of the more celebrated and colorful coaches in Vulcan athletic history but took the coaching move in stride.
“I never really thought much of it when Coach Bailey retired,” said Gustovich. “Both of those guys worked hard to make the program succeed and it was an easy transition though they had different coaching styles. Chuck Gismondi was more laid back but they were both good guys.”
Originally from Charleroi and a 1977 graduate of Charleroi High School, Gustovich starred in both baseball and basketball for the Cougars. He was the first area American Legion player ever invited to the annual state all-star game in Harrisburg.
Gustovich returned to Cal U last year and earned his master’s degree in special education and teaching certification. He currently teaches with the Brownsville Intermediate Unit 1 and lives in Twilight Hollow. Before returning to the Mon Valley and continuing his education, Gustovich was a middle school teacher for six years in West Palm Beach, Florida, and then worked 13 years for a boat company in Staten Island, New York.
Though it has been 20 years since his collegiate playing days, Gustovich looks back fondly at his baseball past.
“There are no particular games that I remember well but just playing ball and being with my teammates and the coaches. That’s what I remember most,” said Gustovich. “The southern trips stick out because I remember we would go down there and the other teams really respected us. We could not play every day all year like the southern teams but we would beat a lot of those teams during the southern trip. People knew of us and we had a good reputation.”
Daniel Gustovich was a four year starter for the baseball team from 1978-81. Gustovich finished his career as Cal's all time leader in at-bats, doubles and RBIs. He was.300 hitter on Cal's 1979 PSAC title team.
