The NBA Finals date back to 1947 (when they were known as the Basketball Association of America Finals) and the very 1st NCAA tourney was held in 1939. Olympic basketball competition is even older: it debuted as a demonstration event in 1904 and the men’s version became a medal sport in 1936, with the women finally getting their chance to go for the gold in 1976. The United States has dominated Olympic basketball competition from the start: the men have won 15 gold medals in the 18 tournaments they have participated in during the past 84 years, while the women have won 8 gold medals in the 10 tournaments in which they have competed during the past 44 years. Those of you who were looking forward to the 2020 Olympics opening ceremonies in Tokyo on July 24, 2020 will have to wait an extra 364 days, as the coronavirus caused a postponement until July 23, 2021. Due to the absence of college basketball since mid-March, HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel decided to fill the void by trying to interview as many prior Olympic players/coaches as possible so that you have something to read this summer while not watching the Summer Games. We continue our coverage by chatting with Mark Boryla about his father Vince winning a gold medal in 1948 and an ABA title in 1971. Today marks the 72nd anniversary of team USA’s opening game at the 1948 Olympics, an 86-21 win over Switzerland.
In 1946 he was named an All-American at Notre Dame, then enlisted in the Army: what impact did his military service have on him either on or off the court? He said the only command that he remembered was to “play ball”! His main duty at the Air Force base in Denver was to be in charge of the gym: he never saw any active duty.
He won a gold medal with team USA at the 1948 Olympics: what did it mean to him to represent his country, and what did it mean to him to win a gold medal? In later years it meant a lot to him but in 1948 there was no TV so it did not seem a big deal back then. He was very proud to play for the US and win a gold medal: I still have a picture in my office of the team walking off the court after winning the title game. He developed lifelong friendships with many of his teammates.
After the Olympics he transferred to Denver and became the school’s 1st and only basketball All-American in 1949: it seems unthinkable for a player in the current era to be an All-American at 2 different schools but how big a deal was it back then? 1 of the questions in Trivial Pursuit is actually about that and my dad is the answer! Growing up I learned a lot about my dad from other people: he did not make a big deal about it when I was a kid. He made his gold medal into a necklace for my mom but did not talk about his accomplishments a lot or think of himself as a big deal.
After graduating he signed with the Knicks and scored 9 PTS for the victorious East squad in the 1st-ever NBA All-Star Game in 1951: could he tell back then that it was going to become 1 of the greatest annual exhibition sporting events in America? He never made a big deal about that either but I think that I found his old uniform lying around somewhere.
In Game 7 of the 1951 NBA Finals (the 1st ever Game 7 in NBA Finals history) he scored 16 PTS in a 4-PT loss at Rochester: where does that rank among the most devastating losses of his career? I never heard him talk about that.
In the 1953 NBA Finals the Knicks won Game 1 before defending champ Minneapolis won the next 4 in a row: was New York considered a success (due to making 3 straight NBA Finals) or a failure (due to losing all 3 of them) or something in between? I did not know that either.
He became President/GM of the Utah Stars in 1970, followed by 13,260 fans celebrating a 10-PT win over the Kentucky Colonels in Game 7 of the 1971 ABA Finals by mobbing the court for 20 minutes and carrying star players Willie Wise/Zelmo Beaty off the floor on their shoulders: where did that game rank among the highlights of his career? I was courtside for that as a teenager. He was very proud/excited to see Utah win the title in his very 1st year. He was a great negotiator when it came to contracts/trades and a great evaluator of players. I think he was disappointed that he could not recreate that with the Nuggets. He did not want Willie to leave town without a contract so he resigned him to a 2 or 3-year deal rather than taking time to enjoy the title.
He became President/GM of the Denver Nuggets in 1984, traded leading scorer Kiki Vandeweghe to Portland for 3 starters who helped improve the team’s win total by 14 games over the previous season, and was named NBA Executive of the Year in his very 1st season: how did he like being a GM, and how pissed was the city of Denver after learning of the trade? I think there was some criticism at the time of the trade: he actually played with Kiki’s dad Ernie when they were teammates together on the Knicks! I remember him telling me how it was going while he was working on the trade: he also got a 1st round pick for the following year. Portland initially offered just 2 players but later increased their offer.
After getting out of basketball he became a successful real estate developer in Colorado and 1 of Denver’s greatest philanthropists: how did he get into real estate, and why did he decide to give away so much of his hard-earned money? After moving to Denver he met an investor named Harry Roberts who took him under his wing. My dad’s highest NBA salary was around $20,000/year so we would move to New York for 6 months with just our clothes and then move back west every summer. My dad was always worried what would happen after retiring from the Knicks so he made an effort to save a lot of money: $50,000. He started investing in real estate deals with Harry, who was very street-smart, and my dad was very successful at working with various city zoning departments. They speculated on land throughout town and almost every deal was a gold mine. He never had to be in the biggest house and was very religious so he felt the need to give back and help people out as much as he could. He worked with Father Woody to do a Christmastime giveaway to help the local homeless population. I did not know about my dad funding it for almost 15 years but we still do it today. A priest gives a sermon and then they get an envelope with $20: my family attends it every December. He also gave some money to Regis University: he did not want any buildings named after him but they named an off-campus apartment building in his honor. He felt that it was God’s money.
He passed away in 2016: when people look back on his career, how do you think that he should be remembered the most? Due to the fact that he lived until age 89 most people in Denver know him for his career with the Nuggets. The public in general might know him for his philanthropy that went unnoticed while he was alive.