This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Denver • A memorial mass for former Utah Stars minority owner and general manager Vince Boryla will be held Saturday at the Holy Ghost Catholic Church in Denver.
Boryla, who constructed a team in Utah which won the 1971 American Basketball Association championship, died Sunday. He was 89.
The Stars moved to Utah from Los Angeles in 1970, after cable television pioneer Bill Daniels bought the franchise.
In an interview with The Tribune five years ago, Boryla said the other option for relocation was Albuquerque.
"Salt Lake was better, as far as having a building," Boryla said. "Salt Lake was a basketball town, too. It just wasn't a professional basketball town. … Our acceptance in that town was 100 percent."
During their first year in Utah, the Stars won 57 games. They capped the season with a victory over Kentucky in Game 7 of the the ABA Finals in front of 13,260 fans at the Salt Palace.
"I was always a trading guy," Boryla said. "… I made some deals from the club we got from L.A., put it together and we came out smelling like a rose."
The Stars folded in 1975.
Boryla, the son of Polish immigrants, was a consensus All-American at the University of Denver and member of the 1948 U.S. Olympic team, which won the gold medal. He played for the Knicks for five seasons and eventually became their coach.
After running the Stars in Utah, Boryla became the general manager of the Denver Nuggets from 1984-87. He was named the NBA's Executive of the Year in 1985.
Boryla is survived by his wife, five children 16 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.