Jack Gifford, a former first baseman for the UCLA baseball team and former CEO of Maxim Integrated Products Inc., passed away on the night of Jan. 11 at his vacation home in Hawaii. He was 68.
Gifford was a major benefactor for both the UCLA baseball and golf programs. Most recently, he and his wife Rhodine sponsored the construction of UCLA baseball’s new hitting facility, which is scheduled to open at the end of this month. Gifford also donated funds for the construction of UCLA’s golf on-campus practice facility in 2002.
Gifford played alongside legendary former UCLA baseball coach Gary Adams in the early 1960s. Adams coached the Bruins for 30 years, retiring in 2004.
“I never played with a more confident or competitive player,” Adams said of Gifford in a statement. “He was the kind of player you wanted most on your team ““ committed to excellence, hard work and whatever was best for the team. I never met a man who loved baseball more than Jack ““ not just watching it being played; I mean actually getting out there on the field and playing it.”
Gifford graduated from UCLA in 1963 with a bachelors of science in electrical engineering. He utilized his knowledge of engineering in the business world, founding his company in 1983, which specializes in designing, manufacturing and selling semi-conductor products. In 2005, he was named America’s Best Semiconductor Industry CEO by Institutional Investor magazine. He retired from his position in 2007.
Gifford never left the baseball diamond permanently. He played for his own team, the Maxim Yankees, up through this year. The Maxim Yankees are primarily composed of collegiate and ex-professonial players.
In 2004, Gifford became the oldest baseball player at 63 to compete in the National Baseball Congress World Series. He played primarily alongside high school and collegiate standouts.
Gifford also financed projects at other universities including Santa Clara, San Jose State, Cal and Stanford. Most of his contributions were directed toward the UCLA community, however, as both Gifford and his wife are UCLA alumni.
Gifford is survived by his wife, three daughters ““ Laural Lynch, Tracy Jones and Jacquelyn Disney ““ and 10 grandchildren. A local and private memorial service is planned for this week.