Editor’s note: In the Colorado Classics series, The Denver Post takes a weekly look at individuals who made their mark on the Colorado sports landscape and what they are doing now.
As the 1975-76 American Basketball Association season moved into its last two months, Chuck Williams saw an opportunity to make it special for his hometown.
The ABA was down to just the Denver Nuggets and six other teams, and by February it became obvious that the league would fold.
The Nuggets were a vibrant franchise, as Denver fans packed the new McNichols Sports Arena. With a roster that included Williams, David Thompson, Dan Issel, Ralph Simpson, Byron Beck, Marvin Webster, Claude Terry, Gus Gerard, Monte Towe, the Nuggets were favored to win the postseason title after posting a 60-24 record to win the regular-season championship.
But after eliminating Artis Gilmore and the Kentucky Colonels in the semifinals, the Nuggets ran into Julius Erving and the New York Nets, and Williams’ hope of bringing the title home ended as the Nets won the finals in six games.
“That was a great team, and it would have been outstanding to win that last championship,” said Williams, a Denver East High School product who went on to the University of Colorado before signing with both of Denver’s ABA teams, the Rockets and the Nuggets. “I would have loved to bring it back to Denver.”
Williams has become part of a legend, as the sixth game of the 1976 playoff finals is considered a classic. Thompson scored 42 points for Denver, but the Nets came from 22 points down to win 112-106 in New York. After the season, the ABA folded and the Nuggets, Nets, San Antonio and Indiana joined the NBA.
While at East High, Williams played defensive and offensive end on the 1962 state championship football team and was a forward on the 1964 state basketball championship team. His high school teammates included Dave Babbs, Dave Sidwell, J.R. Craig and Dexter Millican.
“He could have played football or basketball in college,” said Sidwell, now the football coach at Denver East. “He picked basketball and that was a smart move. He played in the pros almost 10 years. How many people can say that?”
At CU, Williams played alongside Pat Frink, Lynn Baker and Bob Bauers.
“Athletics teach a lot of things,” Williams said. “You learn perseverance, discipline, the value of team work and camaraderie.”
His best pro season was as a member of that 1975-76 team. He averaged 11 points a game and had a total of 375 assists in 79 regular-season games.
“Chuck Williams was a solid professional player who got better as he went along,” said Bob King, a former Nuggets executive. “He was a very good defensive player and a good ball-handler.”
The 1976 ABA All-Star Game played in Denver is among Williams’ fondest memories. The Nuggets won the game in a format that pitted them against the rest of the league’s all-stars. The first slam-dunk contest was held, featuring an Erving-Thompson battle.
Williams’ coaches and teammates make up a who’s who of local names. At Denver East, it was Pat Panek in football, Paul Coleman in basketball, Jack Moulton in track and field and Myran Craig in baseball. Sox Walseth was at the helm at CU.
Doug Moe was Larry Brown’s assistant coach with the Nuggets as the curtain came down on the ABA. Williams’ last stop in the NBA was for the Buffalo Braves in their final season, 1977-78.
Williams believes he’s reaching native status as a Denverite. His family moved here from the California Bay Area when he was 8 years old.
“I’m in the best shape I’ve been in since I was 30 years old,” Williams said. “I do have the golf bug. I shot an 88 this fall at Park Hill.”
Williams now makes his moves in the Denver business community. He’s operating his third business since leaving basketball, a limousine company that provides private town car service – and the NBA All-Star Game in February kept him busy.
Williams’ athletic accomplishments earned him inclusion, along with John Stearns and Dave Logan, at the top of a list of the best athletes from Colorado.
“I’m up there somewhere in the group,” Williams said. “If I’m considered to be in the top three, that’s fine with me.”
Irv Moss can be reached at 303-820-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com.
