When Larry Bird entered the National Basketball Association (NBA) he was the "Hick from French Lick," a country boy coming to live in the big city. When he left 13 seasons later, he was "Larry Legend," one of basketball's all-time greats. Together with Earvin "Magic" Johnson, Bird helped revive the NBA, making basketball the most popular sport in the United States. A three-time NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) and two-time NBA finals MVP, Bird worked hard to overcome physical limitations and become a star. He did all this after dropping out of college, giving up on basketball, and working as a garbage man.

Larry Joe Bird was born December 7, 1956, in West Baden, Indiana, a small village just outside the slightly larger town of French Lick. Once a famous resort community with highly prized mineral springs, French Lick had fallen on hard times when Bird was a boy. His father...