SANTA CLARA, Calif. - The third annual Jack Gifford Memorial Tournament, co-hosted by Santa Clara and San Jose State, will be held from Mar. 8-11 on the campuses of Santa Clara and San Jose State Universities. The tournament is named after the late John F. (Jack) Gifford, an avid baseball fan and long-time supporter of several college programs all around the Bay Area, as well as at his alma mater, UCLA. He passed away in January of 2010.
"We can only hope to organize a tournament and play this great game in a way that reflects the honor and integrity that the Jack Gifford name represents," said first-year Santa Clara baseball head coach Dan O'Brien. "One thing is for sure, the current men of Bronco baseball will learn all about this quality man before we take the field for a tournament in his name. He is a model for what we all should strive to be."
Mr. Gifford, a 1963 graduate of UCLA and founder of Maxim Integrated Products, was an avid baseball fan and a long-time, generous supporter of several college baseball programs. For years, his donations aided the baseball teams at San Jose State University, Santa Clara University, Stanford University, the University of California, and his alma mater, UCLA, with equipment, uniforms, facilities, travel, and everything in between.
At UCLA, which Mr. Gifford attended on a baseball scholarship, he and his wife's names adorn the Jack and Rhodine Gifford Hitting Facility, which was completed ahead of the 2009 season.
Mr. Gifford started his career in the semiconductor industry in 1964 at the age of 24 with Fairchild Semiconductor. He went on to co-found Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), run Intersil, and most recently, found and serve as the CEO since 1983 of Maxim, headquartered in Sunnyvale, Calif. Considered one of the founding fathers of the analog microchip industry, he retired as Maxim's CEO in 2007.
Through his company, Maxim, Mr. Gifford was able to provide internships for numerous Bay Area collegiate baseball student-athletes when they graduated. Over the years, dozens of them played for his summer baseball team, the Maxim Yankees. The final edition of the Maxim squad went 5-2 at the National Baseball Congress World Series in Wichita, Kan., in August of 2008. Mr. Gifford served as the club's general manager.
The 2012 edition of the tournament will feature Santa Clara, San Jose State, Utah, Lehigh and Columbia. There will be five games at Stephen Schott Stadium and five games at Municipal Stadium. Santa Clara's first game will be vs. Utah on Thu., Mar. 8 at 6 p.m. Click here for tournament central.
Fans can purchase All-Tournament Passes that are good for access to all games at both Santa Clara and San Jose State. It is over a $50 value for only $20. Please click here to purchase tickets.
Jack Gifford Memorial Tournament Schedule
Thursday, March 8
at Santa Clara
6 p.m. - Utah at Santa Clara
at San Jose State
6 p.m. - San Jose State at Lehigh
Friday, March 9
at Santa Clara
1 p.m. - Lehigh at Utah
6 p.m. - Lehigh at Santa Clara
at San Jose State
6 p.m. - Columbia at San Jose State
Saturday, March 10
at Santa Clara
6 p.m. - Santa Clara at Columbia
at San Jose State
1 p.m. - Columbia at Lehigh
6 p.m. - San Jose State at Utah
Sunday, March 11
at Santa Clara
1 p.m. - Utah at Columbia
at San Jose State
1 p.m. - Santa Clara at San Jose State