Burt Gustafson

Burton F. Gustafson (November 30, 1925 – October 22, 2022) was an American athlete and sports coach. After attending Northern Michigan University (NMU) where he was a three-sport star, he coached several high school football, basketball, and track and field teams. He then returned to NMU where he served from 1956 to 1961 as a coach in four sports. He later was an assistant coach for the Wyoming Cowboys and coach and administrator for the Green Bay Packers.

Early life and education Gustafson was born on November 30, 1925, in Marquette, Michigan, and grew up in Newberry, Michigan. He attended Newberry High School, where he was a three-sport star, earning varsity letters in football, basketball, and track and field. After graduating from Newberry, he joined the United States Navy and served in World War II as a member of the Seabee department. As a senior, he was named football most valuable player and was captain of the track team.

Coaching career Immediately after graduating from Northern Michigan in 1950, Gustafson began a coaching career, serving as a baseball, football, track, and basketball coach at Cedarville High School. After two seasons there, Gustafson was hired as assistant football coach, track coach, and head basketball coach at Escanaba High School. In 1954, he was hired as ends coach in football, assistant coach in track and head basketball coach at Battle Creek High School. During this period, Gustafson also attended the University of Michigan, where he earned a master's degree in physical education. He was also supposed to be junior varsity basketball coach but became varsity head coach shortly before the season started, after C. V. Money announced he was not up for the job. Gustafson turned the track team into one of the most prominent in the area, winning the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) District Championship three times in a row. He was given a position as Packers' linebackers coach in 1971, being hired by Dan Devine, who released a statement that said: "I followed Burt's career with a great deal of interest and I'm pleased that he's joining the Packer staff. With Dave Hanner, Don Doll and Burt Gustafson, I am confident we will have the defense in good hands." They went 10–4 the following season and made it to the first round of the playoffs, but missed it in the next two seasons. In the preseason of 1978, he was shifted to a front office role after just one year as special teams coach. In 1979, Gustafson was named Director of Player Personnel, a position he served in until 1985, when he was named a special assistant, also referred to as administrative assistant/football operations. In this position he was responsible for "organizing the Packers' spring mini-camps, the annual summer training camp at St. Norbert College, handling all transportation, housing and workout arrangements for free agents brought to Green Bay and assisting position coaches in all free agent tryouts," according to the Green Bay Press-Gazette.

With his wife, Alice, Gustafson had two sons and three daughters. After retiring, Gustafson was a stamp collector, being involved in the efforts to get Vince Lombardi featured on a postage stamp, and lived with his wife at their home by Chicagon Lake in Iron County, Michigan. In the 2010s, he was interviewed several times by Green Bay Packers historian Cliff Christl. Gustafson discussed his opinions on past Packers coaches he worked for, including Vince Lombardi, Bart Starr, Forrest Gregg, Dan Devine and Lindy Infante. He died on October 22, 2022, at age 96.