The Hick From French Lick

Larry Bird was born on December 7, 1956, in West Baden, Indiana. He was the fourth child of Joe and Georgia Bird's six children. They grew up in French Lick, Indiana, a small town of less than 2,000 people. They were very poor, meaning his parents struggled raising a family of eight. His dad was a strong alcoholic, so his mom was the one working most, but they somehow got through.

Growing up in French Lick, Larry was the tallest boy in his first-grade class. His brothers were very active and played sports every day. Larry had two older brothers who created a competitive and challenging environment for Larry and pushed him to play sports. Larry had to exert considerable effort to outshine his more dominant brothers. Larry played ball because his older brothers played. Larry played different sports such as baseball and softball when he was growing up.

He made the decision to start basketball when he was in high school which you would expect to be too late, but for Larry, it was as if he started the sport when he could first walk! When he started, he didn’t want to stop.

He began to practice day and night at home, at school or wherever he could. He told Sports Illustrated, "I played when I was cold, and my body was aching, and I was so tired. I don't know why, I just kept playing and playing... I guess I always wanted to make the most out of it."   

While Larry’s older brothers significantly influenced his path to play sports, his blue-collar father also played a huge role for him to play. His father instilled in him a relentless determination and a daily commitment to excel.

Larry said, “One thing I got from my father was his determination to go to work no matter what,” Bird said. “I’ve never seen him cry about being sick. Even when I got injured, I never seen him say, "Well, we gotta miss work tomorrow. Even if I have an injury, I try to play through it.”

Bird played for Springs Valley High School in French Lick. He set the high school scoring mark of 1,125 points during his high school career. During Bird’s senior year in 1974 his team went undefeated in the regular season. Bird averaged 31 points and 21 rebounds per game.

After high school, Bird attended Indiana University and played for Bobby Knight for one month but could not afford to stay at the college. So, he transferred to Indiana State University in Terre Haute, Indiana, and attended from 1976 through 1979.

During his senior year there, he led the team to a 33-1 record. They were defeated in the 1979 NCAA championship game against Michigan State University, which was the first meeting between Bird and Magic Johnson.

Bird was drafted by the Boston Celtics after his junior year at Indiana State, but did not play professionally until the 1979-1980 season, when he won Rookie of the Year award after contributing to one of the largest single-season turnarounds in NBA history, a 32-win improvement.

During his 13 seasons with the Celtics, the self-described “Hick from French Lick” cemented his legacy as one of the greatest players in NBA history. The Celtics won the NBA title in 1981, 1984, and 1986. Bird was a 12-time All Star and won three consecutive league Most Valuable Player awards from 1984-1986, the first noncenter to do so.

Bird averaged 24.3 points, 10 rebounds, and 6.3 assists per game during his career, and his 21,791 total points scored was the 11th highest in NBA history at the time of his retirement.

At the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, Bird won a gold medal in basketball with the “Dream Team.” Bird was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1998.

Larry Bird might not have hailed from a privileged background like some of his contemporaries, but Bird’s challenging childhood was a crucial factor in shaping him into the greatest Boston Celtics player of all time.

Today, Larry Bird lives in Naples, Florida with his wife Dinah and their two children.