Vince Boryla
From Hoopedia
Vincent Joseph Boryla (born March 11, 1927 in East Chicago, Indiana) is a retired American basketball player, coach, and executive. His nickname was "Moose".
He graduated from East Chicago Washington High School in 1944. He played basketball at the University of Notre Dame and the University of Denver. He was part of the U.S team that won the gold medal at the 1948 Olympics in London. In 1947 and 1948 he was named to the AAU All-American team for his contributions as a member of the Denver Nuggets. In 1948 Boryla helped the Nuggets get all the way to the AAU tournament championship game, before they succumbed to the mighty Phillips 66ers, led by Bob Kurland.
Boryla played for the New York Knicks from 1949 to 1955 accumulating 3,187 career points with a 9.0 career PPG average. He was named to the 195 NBA All-Star team.
He took over as Knicks head coach when the venerable Joe Lapchick resigned in the middle of the 1955-56 season. Boryla was only 28 years old at the time. He continued as head coach for two more season, resigning after the 1957-58 season with career record of 80-85.
Later in his career, he became the general manager of the American Basketball Association Denver Nuggets at the beginning of their history, when they were first the Kansas City ABA team and then the Denver Larks. He was also the general manager of the ABA's Utah Stars. Boryla later rejoined the Nuggets later when the franchise joined the NBA. He would win the NBA Executive of the Year Award with the Nuggets in 1984. Boryla is now retired from basketball.
Boryla has been inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame, and the National Polish-American Hall of Fame.
