📍French Lick, Indiana, USA
1956 – 1974“Larry Bird grew up in French Lick and West Baden Springs, small resort towns in the hills of southern Indiana, famous for their grand old spa hotels but struggling in his childhood. His parents, Georgia and Joe, had six children and very little money. The house by the railway tracks had a coal furnace that often failed in winter, and his mother worked long shifts at a diner, making sure the children had shoes even if a bank payment had to wait. In hard times, Larry stayed with his grandmother. Basketball was everywhere in southern Indiana, and the Bird brothers played constantly, tumbling down the hill to shoot at the hoop by the town's water plant. His older brother Mark was the star shooter Larry wanted to match, and the brothers' games were fierce. Larry was not the best player as a boy, but he practised endlessly, before school and after dark. At Springs Valley High School, a broken ankle cut short his sophomore season, and he spent the time working on his passing and shooting on crutches. He came back as a junior and became the town's hero, wearing number 33, as Mark had. He went to Indiana University but felt lost on the huge campus and came home after a few weeks, working on a rubbish truck before enrolling at Indiana State. There he took a small college to the national final, and then joined the Boston Celtics, where he won three NBA championships. He became known as the Hick from French Lick. The town has honoured him with Larry Bird Boulevard, and he has often spoken of his mother's work ethic as the example he followed.”
🗺️ Approximate location today
📍 Street view today