Larry Bird

Larry Bird

One of the greatest basketball players of all time emerged from the small town of French Lick, Indiana. With a
population of 2,059 people, around 1,600 of them came to watch the Valley High basketball games, especially the
blond-haired shooting whiz with a funny smile named Larry Joe Bird.
Following a sophomore season that was shortened by a broken ankle, Bird erupted as a junior. Springs Valley went
19-2 and young Larry became a local celebrity. Generous fans always seemed to be willing to give a ride to Bird's
parents, who couldn't afford a car of their own. As a senior Bird became the school's all-time scoring champion.
About 4,000 people attended his final home game.
When Bird went on to college, he found life very difficult. He started out as an Indiana Hoosier, but later left Bobby
Knight’s team. In 1976 Bird enrolled at Indiana State, which had a 12-14 record for the 2 previous years. Home-
game attendance hovered around 3,100 when he arrived, but as he had done in Springs Valley, Bird single-handedly
packed the house and propelled his team to respectability. He averaged better than 30 points and 10 rebounds for the
Sycamores during his first campaign. Season-ticket sales tripled. TV stations showed film clips of Bird instead of
commercials. Students skipped class to line up for tickets eight hours before tip-off. "Larry Bird Ball" was the most
popular sport in Terre Haute. The Sycamores went undefeated and reached No. 1 in Bird's senior year-th...

Larry Bird

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