Vince Boryla

Vincent Joseph Boryla (March 11, 1927 – March 27, 2016) was an American basketball player, coach and executive. His nickname was "Moose". 

Early life
Boryla was born in East Chicago, Indiana. He studied at East Chicago Washington High School in 1944. He played basketball at the University of Notre Dame and the University of Denver. Boryla was part of the U.S team that won the gold medal at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London.

Career
Boryla played for the New York Knicks in the early 1950s. In 1951, Boryla scored nine points in the 1951 NBA All-Star Game. He played in the NBA Finals in 1951 and 1953.  Boryla was not in the 1952 playoffs.  He later became the Knicks' coach from 1956 to 1958, and had an 80-85 record with them.

Later in his career, Boryla became the general manager of the American Basketball Association's Denver Nuggets early in 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 when the franchise joined the NBA.  He won the NBA Executive of the Year Award with the Nuggets in 1984.  

Death
Boryla died in Denver, Colorado on March 27, 2016 from complications of pneumonia, aged 89.

Honors
Boryla was added into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame, and in 1984 into the National Polish-American Hall of Fame. 

References

Other websites

Vince Boryla (as coach) Statistics  at Basketball-Reference.com
National Polish-American Sports HOF profile

Category:1927 births
Category:2016 deaths
Category:Deaths from pneumonia
Category:New York Knicks players
Category:National Basketball Association coaches
Category:Sportspeople from Indiana
Category:People from East Chicago, Indiana