Larry Bird

Have you ever wondered how a legend like Larry Bird came to be? Some say if babies are born to become basketball players, Larry Bird fits the description. The blond-haired infant was doing pushups when he was just 3 months old and walking alone by 9 months (Kavanagh 15). By hardwork and dedicataion, Larry Bird amazed others with his talents on and off the basketball court, and he continued this work ethic in his retirement.

Larry Joe Bird was born on December 7, 1956 in West Baden Springs, Indiana to Joe and Georgia Bird. He weighed 11 pounds, 12 ounces, and was 23 inches long. Georgia Kerns, his mother, married Joe Bird on September 20, 1951. The Kerns were a poor family and the Birds family were even poorer (Kavanagh 15-16). Larry’s father Joe, was a great athlete as a teenager, but never played high school sports. He enlisted in both the Navy and the Army forces. Joe was a combat infantry man and came home with nightmares, that would disturb him forever (Kavanagh 17). Larry was raised in a very troublesome home. Lizzie Kerns, his grandmother helped Larry’s mother raise all of her children. Larry was his grandmothers favorite and stayed at her house majority of his childhood (Kavanagh 17-18). Larry’s older brothers, Mike and Mark, set pace for him to become a great athlete. They were always making their kid brother pitch to them for batting practice and to chase down basketballs (Kavanagh 19).

Larry’s basketball career began at Springs Valley High School, in French Lick. He was always the key component for his team. Bird was the all time leading scorer by 1974, the year he graduated high school(“Larry Bird”). His stats drew attention from legendary coach, Bobby Knight, and earned him an athletic scholarship at the University ...

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...for 5 years. In 1997 he became the head coach of the Indiana Pacers. Larry had no previous coaching experience but lead them to a 58-24 record, a franchise best. He was chosen to coach the Eastern Conference All Stars his first year of coaching. He stepped down as head coach in 2000 and in 2003 retuned as President of Operations. At the end of the 2011-2012 season, he was named NBA Executive of the year, making him the only person to be named the NBA’s MVP, Coach of the year, and Executive of the Year.

Hard work and dedication for something you love will take you a long way. Larry quoted, “ I’ve got a theory that if you give 100 percent all of the time, somehow things will workout in the end.” Larry lived by these words, and became very sucessful on and off the basketball court. His work ethic is what drove him to become the well rounded, successful man he is today.