Larry Bird

Sunday, January 10, 2010
Larry Bird

This page is for the man who wore number 33 for the Springs Valley Blackhawks (French Lick, Indiana),number 33 for the Indiana State Sycamores (Terre Haute, Indiana), and last but not least, number 33 for the famed Boston Celtics (Boston, Massachusetts).

How about Larry "the Legend" Bird. I have been a follower of Larry Bird and the Boston Celtics since I was five or six back in the rookie years of Larry. I work some at Hulman Center in Terre Haute,Indiana where Larry played college basketball as a union IATSE #49 Stagehand. Basketball is the sport here, as in "Hoosiers" the movie.

I am a huge collector of Larry Bird and Celtics sports memorabilia. I probably have one of the largest collections around of Larry Bird memorabilia. I am going to post pictures of it on here and tell me what you think. If I have duplicates I may be willing to trade (for something I don't have) or sell. If you want to sell Larry Bird or Celtics memorabilia that I don't have, just shoot me an email through my blog.

I became a fan of the Boston Celtics in the 80’s with my dad (I was born in 1975) when I was young. I had the Celtics jacket with my name on the back and Larry's number 33 on the shoulder. My greatest memories were watching the Celtics beat up on the Pistons or the Lakers on TV. I hated the Pistons and the Lakers (I have to admit they had good teams also and that’s what made it the NBA and good rivals). I remember the steal by Larry against the Pistons with Johnny Most calling it. I remember getting a glimpse in the seats of Bill Russell, Bob Cousy, John Havlicek, Dave Cowens, or Red smoking that cigar at the old Boston Garden watching the game as it played. I know they were thinking “I can't wait for Larry and the Celtics to win another championship”. (17 total I might add).

The NBA wouldn't be what it is today if it wasn't for Larry and Magic as they began their humbled careers back in college together. They both grew up poor and that goes to show that anybody can make something for themselves if they just try hard enough.

I have spoke to Larry Bird twice, he is a man of few words. I saw him once at his jersey induction at Hulman Center in Terre Haute and I asked him if he got the letter I sent to his house. I told him my name and wanted to know if he would sign a ball for me. He said "I get them all the time bud" as he signed the Spalding for me. The next time I talked to him was at an Indiana Pacers game. I took in my truck’s personalized Indiana license plate that says BIRD33 to hopefully get it signed. The ushers told me he signs during timeouts but only tickets. So i proceeded to go down during timeouts. In the fourth quarter, I finally got to him, handed him my ticket, and he signed it. I yelled “Larry” and he looked at me. I showed him the plate and he just smiled real big. He probably does get tired of being asked for autos but he did sign everybody that went down there I believe. SO IF YOU ARE READING THIS LARRY THANKS FOR MY AUTOS AND THANKS FOR ALL THE MEMORIES. YOU ARE ONE OF THE GREATEST BASKETBALL PLAYERS EVER TO PLAY ON THE HARDWOOD!!!!! Hopefully if you look at this blog you will see my pics and all of my collection and know what a true fan I am.

I went many times to the Boston Connection, which use to be Larry Bird and Max Gibson's hotel and restaurant in Terre Haute. It housed a lot of Larry Birds memorabilia and it had an awesome gift shop for the Bird or Celtic lover. It also had a place in the restaurant to shoot basketball, which was truly awesome.

I have stayed at Larry Birds former house in West Baden twice. Larry no longer lives there now. It use to be a resort and you could stay there it was called "The Legends of French Lick Resort" now it is officially closed. It was a very neat place and had a lot of Larry's furnishings and memorabilia left there for fans to see. I got to play basketball on his court there where he used to play at home in the 80's and 90's and it was also where all the famous Larry and Magic Converse commercials were filmed. I sat on his golf cart with his golf bags on the back. I stayed in the Celtic room and the Olympic room. I took a tour of the whole house and his awesome 5 car huge garage. I even had my picture taken on his personally made Schwinn bike!! From what I gather, Larry likes tinkering around on old vehicles--how cool, I am building a 1967 Camaro as we speak.

If you are a fan of Larry Bird, while you are in French Lick, don't forget to go by his high school, if it is open, and drive by his childhood home. I will have pics of them on here also.

If anybody has stories of Larry Bird or the Celtics feel free to email me a story about it. I also thought it would be neat for me to do this blog and share my collection with other Larry Bird and Celtics fans. Go Celtics and Pacers!!