SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
You know, these days, if there's a talented high school basketball player in Croatia or Congo, recruiters'll find them and may sign them to a college career that lasts just a year - one and done - on their way to the pros, along with a multimillion dollar NIL, or Name, Image and Likeness deal - every moment passed along on social media.
Then there's the story of Larry Bird, one of the greatest players in the history of the game. Gave it up when he left Indiana University in 1974 to work on a garbage truck in his hometown of French Lick, Indiana. The story of his return and rise into sports history is told in Keith O'Brien's new book, "Heartland: A Forgotten Place, An Impossible Dream, And The Miracle Of Larry Bird."
Keith O'Brien, the bestselling author of "Charlie Hustle," "Outside Shot" and other books, joins us now. Thanks so much for being with us.
KEITH O'BRIEN: Thanks so much for having me, Scott.
SIMON: And we will caution that this discussion may include mention of self-harm. You read about Larry Bird's childhood. Do you begin to understand why he spent so much time on a basketball court?
O'BRIEN: Yeah. You know, this story is a bit different, right? We always do the Bird-Magic thing where we combine the narratives of Larry Bird and Magic Johnson. And really, what I wanted to do with this book was just tilt the camera a little bit differently, change that perspective and zoom in on that origin story in rural Indiana in the 1970s.
SIMON: At the center of it is the tragedy of Larry Bird's father. What should we know about Joey Bird?
O'BRIEN: You know, Joey was a present father in the life of Larry Bird, but he did have struggles. He struggled to stay employed. He struggled with drinking. Based on my reporting, those struggles really do date back to the Korean War. And in the winter of 1950, 1951, Joey Bird is in the thick of the fight. Joey Bird sees and maybe does terrible things that winter. And, you know, those struggles, by the early 1970s, are going to lead to a divorce. And sadly and tragically, he does take his own life at a time when Larry Bird is only 18 years old. And he's a kid who's in the midst of his own struggles, you know? That's the winter after Larry Bird has left Indiana after just three weeks. He's walked away from a scholarship from the great Bobby Knight at Indiana University. He's returned to French Lick, and he is nearly slipping away - really drifting to the edges of the basketball map.
SIMON: Did basketball also bring him back?
O'BRIEN: It did. Larry is playing in what's known as the Industrial League. These are teams that were sponsored by taverns and liquor stores. Larry is playing with guys who are eight, 10 years older than him. And then, you know, out of nowhere, a man named Bill Hodges - a sort of journeyman, down-on-his-luck assistant coach newly hired at Indiana State - you know, drifts down to French Lick, driving the streets, looking for, as he said, a 6-foot-7 blond kid.
SIMON: We should explain. Indiana State, unlike Indiana University - not a powerhouse.
O'BRIEN: Not a powerhouse. You know, this was a school that was teetering on the brink of being banished to Division II. It's more of a working-class school. And actually, that's one reason why it works for Larry. You know, he feels comfortable there. But when that spotlight finds him and the national media comes calling, you know, they do want to write this epic story. They want to know about his childhood, much to Larry's chagrin.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "CAPTAIN JACK SHOW")
JACK HANES: Can you tell us your name? Although I don't think we need to ask.
LARRY BIRD: Larry Bird.
HANES: Larry Bird. And you're from French Lick, Indiana.
BIRD: You said it all when you said it.
HANES: Yeah. I did.
SIMON: One of our producers found this clip of Larry Bird as a college star at Indiana State. This is - this was on WTHI-TV in Terre Haute.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "CAPTAIN JACK SHOW")
HANES: OK. And what first got you interested in basketball?
BIRD: Girls.
HANES: Girls.
BIRD: 'Cause they...
HANES: You found that the girls liked basketball players?
BIRD: No. They played with us. And that's all we had to play with 'cause down in French Lick, you know, not many - very many people play. So we got a bunch of girls up and just got interested in it.
(LAUGHTER)
SIMON: Let me ask you about what I'll call Larry Bird's verbal style with reporters. He didn't like them, did he?
O'BRIEN: He sure didn't. People who dug too deep, people who, as Larry said in the 1970s, wanted to talk to him about things that, quote, "didn't pertain to basketball" - he didn't like that at all.
SIMON: Let me ask you about a signature appearance, though, when Larry Bird won Player of the Year trophy in 1979. The ceremony's in Chicago. What did he say?
O'BRIEN: You know, at that ceremony, they want to talk to him about, you know, his career. But they also want to talk to him about something that Larry is really uncomfortable in discussing, and that's his race, his whiteness. You know, at the time in the late '70s, NBA executives and television executives, you know, spoke about his race out loud. As one general manager in the NBA says, Larry Bird's a, quote, "unusual commodity, and as a result, he's going to make more money." And they called him out loud, the Great White Hope.
And, you know, at that, you know, ceremony, after he's accepted that award, they press him on that. You know, what does that mean to him? And he said - and I'm paraphrasing here - that he knows what people expect of him. He knows what people are saying about him. He would do his best to - you know, to prove that he was worthy even just to play in the NBA. You know, Larry would happily later, especially with the Celtics, talk about the game, the past, the final play, the strategy. He didn't even then like to talk about what was going on off the court. And here he is now, in 1979, at a moment when he really doesn't like to talk to the media, you know, being forced to answer questions about racial politics. It was hard for him.
SIMON: We will note Indiana State went 33 and 1 in 1979. The finals - course, Indiana State versus Michigan State, Bird versus Magic.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED COMMENTATOR: Perhaps we've never seen a final game with two greater individual players than Larry Bird, the player of the year from Indiana State, and the magic man from East Lansing, Earvin Johnson.
SIMON: Fifty million people watched that game. How did it change the game of basketball in America?
O'BRIEN: Well, it's certainly one of the sparks for March Madness. You know, this was a time when there were four networks. People were glued to their television sets on that Monday night in late March. You know, it fundamentally changes Larry Bird's life. It fundamentally changes Magic Johnson's life. It changes the NBA. You know, we know what happens to Bird. We know what happens to Magic. But his college roommate - a man named Bob Heaton - his other teammates, Bill Hodges himself - the coach who had saved Larry - you know, all of them are forever changed by this moment. And that, to me, you know, makes it more than a sports story. It is a grand American epic.
SIMON: Larry Bird's a happy farmer today?
O'BRIEN: You know, 50 years ago, like we said, you know, Larry wanted to disappear. And in some ways, today, you know, he has finally pulled that off. You know, he is a father. He is a grandfather. He spends his winters down south. He spends his summers up north, back in Indiana on a sprawling ranch. I've been told by people who've been to that ranch, who've spent summer days there, that when Larry gets to that ranch, he's happy going the entire summer not even leaving the property.
SIMON: Keith O'Brien - his new book "Heartland: A Forgotten Place, An Impossible Dream, And The Miracle Of Larry Bird." Thanks so much for being with us.
O'BRIEN: Thanks so much for having me, Scott.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
UNIDENTIFIED MUSICAL ARTIST: (Singing) Now, we don't know a thing about what to teach you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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