Hall of Famer Larry Bird is one of the finest Boston Celtics ever to play basketball. He was selected sixth overall by the Celtics in the 1978 NBA Draft, while he played his entire career in Boston and won three NBA titles. Larry Bird was a 12-time All-Star and three-time NBA MVP throughout his career. He is among the most honored and admired players in the Celtics organization’s history.
Larry Bird had a long-standing rivalry with Magic Johnson. It has been one of the most intriguing rivalries in all sports. This rivalry began in college and spanned the entirety of their celebrated careers. In addition, since his retirement, Larry Bird has taken on a mythological quality. Former rivals and teammates of Bird have noted his ferocious competitiveness and love for trash talk. There is a famous story about him from a 3-point competition. He asked his competitors, “Who’s coming in second?” The incident that led to his victory brilliantly captures the fact that he had a competitive spirit and deadly shooting ability.
One of the most recognizable names in basketball history is Larry Bird and “Magic” Johnson, and Michael Jordan. The “Hick from French Lick” was well-known for his demanding style of play and dedication to hard work. Besides, he had remarkable basketball abilities. To this day, basketball enthusiasts continue to talk about and admire his achievements. However, he played from the 1980s until the beginning of the 1990s.
Let’s jump to the list of the top 5 five interesting Larry Bird facts you should know:
Larry Bird Was Raised In A House Of Poverty
Larry Bird was born in West Baden. It’s a small Indiana hamlet near French Lick. Joe and Georgia Bird had six children, with him being the fourth. His mother worked in a diner to make ends meet, while his father primarily did construction during extended periods of unemployment. Larry Bird’s modest house was close to train tracks and was heated only by a coal furnace. It frequently broke down, leaving the family in substandard conditions on certain cold winter evenings.
Larry Bird and his family faced many challenges because his father was an alcoholic. His father occasionally chose to spend money at the neighborhood pub rather than sending it home to his family (although this did not happen often). Due to financial issues, Larry Bird’s parents frequently sent him to live with his grandmother. However, he didn’t get any relief from the bleak circumstances around him, no matter where he lived. He always claimed that one of the main driving forces behind Larry’s success was his desire to leave a life of poverty. Maybe, for this reason, Larry Bird left his house every morning, and he would fire 200 practice shots throughout his boyhood.
Father Of Larry Bird Shot Himself
When Larry Bird was just 18 years old, his father shot himself. He shot himself immediately after speaking with Larry’s mother over the phone. At that point, Joe’s drinking was the primary reason for the couple’s divorce. Joe decided that the family would be better off with insurance money because support payments were overdue, and there was no work. Joe contacted his wife and urged her not to worry about the problem any longer. He contacted his wife just before he was arrested for not making payments. After hanging up, he shot himself in the head, killing himself.
When Larry Bird was little, his father and he were great friends. Joe and Larry spent practically all of their time together. Therefore, his passing greatly touched Larry. Larry was a very private person. Thus, he never expressed it in public. Despite feeling misled by his father’s actions, Larry learned more than one lesson from him. He learned something he would take with him for the rest of his life. His father was a dedicated worker who did work. One weekend, Joe cared for what appeared to be a broken foot. Larry remembered his father’s foot being nearly entirely black and swollen. He helped him get into his boot. After a tremendous struggle, Larry was able to assist his father in getting ready. Joe limps off to another construction job despite his suffering.
Larry Bird Never Lost Sight Of His Roots
In West Baden and French Lick, Indiana, Larry Bird owned properties. They have been transformed into opulent hotels that any devoted admirer can book. Larry sold his French Lick house in 2007 specifically for this reason. Now anyone with a reservation may work out on the court where Larry and Magic Johnson’s friendship first took hold.
In addition, French Lick has a restaurant with a Larry motif. Larry Bird did not own or earn any money from the restaurant. Rather than that, he has publicly backed it and donated various memorabilia pieces for the decor. Naturally, the community has also honored its most famous resident by renaming “Larry Bird Boulevard street.” Even now, Larry Bird frequently returns to his hometown for the summer. He strolls around its streets and avenues like any other unassuming, modest Indiana hometown hero.
Larry Bird’s Wife Preferred Private Life
Larry Bird has done a fantastic job of keeping his family and personal affairs out of the public eye. While some players maintain an apparent profile, Larry Bird and his wife, Dinah Mattingly, have taken the opposite approach. The two supposedly went to Indiana State University together and were sweethearts in high school. The interesting fact is that Bird had previously been married. He and Mattingly only became romantically involved in the 1980s. It was the time when Bird was beginning his career as a Boston Celtic. But because Larry was already involved with Janet Condra and would subsequently wed her, they did not start dating immediately. After Larry’s prior relationship ended, they must have become more intimate. The wife of Larry Bird is currently 67 years old. The professional history of Larry Bird’s wife is unknown.
Due to her extreme privacy, virtually no information about Larry Bird’s wife is available online. The wife of Larry Bird, Dinah was thrust into the spotlight when she married the NBA icon. The wedding occurred in a friend’s house in Terre Haute, Indiana. Only the bride and groom and their five closest family members and friends were present at the wedding. The couple allegedly attended the event wearing stonewashed denim.
Very little is known about the personal life of Larry Bird’s wife. She did, however, grow up in a loving and encouraging household. The details of her high school are also unknown to us. The wife of Larry Bird reportedly participated in other unspecified sports while in college. She hasn’t said what sport it was or what level of accomplishment she achieved. Since becoming Larry Bird’s wife in 1989, they have adopted two children, Conner and Mariah. While Larry Bird’s adopted daughter has avoided the spotlight, her brother has been at the center of numerous scandals. Even though Bird has been able to maintain his privacy, the couple’s lives haven’t always been simple.
Few People Know About Larry Bird’s Daughter
Larry Bird had a brief marriage to a girl he had known for years when he left college and went back to work at home. Larry Bird and his former wife had a daughter named Corrie, and her name was Janet. Larry Bird’s daughter doesn’t have much time to spend with her father or mother. Larry is a private person and thinks the relationship is a mistake. Given that Larry has two adopted children, his fear of fatherhood is not what keeps him away from Corrie. Larry has never truly discussed his separation from his biological child.
Larry Bird and his daughter, Corrie Bird, didn’t communicate much throughout his career. When Corrie was a teenager, she allegedly wrote her father a letter begging him to attend his Boston retirement ceremony. The scenario came to light in the early 1990s. Bird reportedly didn’t read the letter. The daughter of Larry Bird confessed that her father wasn’t involved in her life. Oprah Winfrey Show a few years later. Corrie Bird was invited to the famous Oprah Winfrey show for an interview when she was 17 years old. Her estrangement from her father was one of the subjects they discussed. Larry Bird’s daughter made it plain that she had always wished for her father to take notice of her and make an effort to build a relationship with her, but that it had never been possible. Fortunately, Larry Bird and his daughter appeared to rekindle their relationship after Larry obtained a coaching position with the Indiana Pacers following his playing career.
Larry Bird’s daughter reportedly received tickets to a game from his wife, Dinah. It led to a conversation with her father afterward. Larry Bird’s daughter remembered talking with Bird before the Hall of Famer said her farewell and escorted her to her vehicle. The Celtics legend has kept quiet about the subject in public. However, Larry Bird attributes his lack of involvement to his tumultuous marriage and ex-wife.
Despite this, Larry Bird said that he would always be there for his daughter. Larry Bird’s daughter got a commendation from her father for becoming the woman she had become. Despite being a standout basketball player throughout high school, Larry Bird’s daughter never went into the sport professionally. Given the somewhat public nature of his predicament with his estranged daughter, Bird’s longtime wife’s continued support of him over the years says a lot about Larry Bird’s wife. Larry Bird has a human side like all legendary figures do. He has had the same ups and downs in life as everyone else. Even though nobody is flawless, “Larry Legend” definitely came close, at least on the basketball floor.
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