One of the all-time great NBA players is acknowledged to be Bird. With his incredible leaping ability and his well-known trash-talking, Bird seemed to be able to do it all.
However, what if I told you that Bird’s initial career decision was not basketball? No, Larry Bird’s aspirations were to work as a construction worker?
Bird may not have had this career choice as his ideal, but it was undoubtedly on his mind.
Bird stated, “I thought I might do construction work.” It requires a lot of labor. It’s demanding labor. However, I appreciate that. I always assumed that I would go into construction if things didn’t work out.
Bird made this statement in a December 2015 interview with Indianapolis Monthly.
It’s astonishing that Bird considered a profession besides basketball, but he did. Let’s travel back in time to the fall of 1974 in French Lick, Indiana.
Several universities expressed interest in Bird following his outstanding high school basketball career.
When you looked at Bird’s basketball statistics, it was simple to see this. Bird scored almost 31 points and pulled down 21 rebounds per game on average while a senior at Springs Valley High School. Springs Valley had a 21-4 record under him.
Following graduation, Bird received a contract to play for the illustrious Indiana Hoosiers, led by coach Bobby Knight.
The aspiration of every Indiana high school basketball player was to represent the Hoosiers. Bird must have been overjoyed, then?
Not quite, though. The summer before Bird was set to enroll at Indiana University for his undergraduate education, something happened to him.
Bird participated in the yearly series between Kentucky and Indiana Boys All-Star
Throughout the games, Bird didn’t get much playing time. Bird was so offended by this that he twice declined to participate in a blowout, meaningless minutes.
For Bird, things kept getting worse on a personal level. His parents’ customary family dynamic was disrupted by their divorce.
Bird was just a student at Indiana University for twenty-four days when the academic year began. Bird left even before the basketball team had had a chance to warm up.
Since Bird was from a small town with only 2000 residents, the idea of going to a school with 33,000 students was too much for her to bear.
For Bird, basketball was over, and he thought he would wind up in construction.
During my final year at Indiana State, I was assigned to teach special education students in a high school. That was difficult. I now have a great deal of respect for those that do that,” Bird remarked.
basketball players.
“I had assumed that I would work as a concrete pourer in the construction industry. Although I wasn’t very good in shop in school, I have experience with construction. In terms of basketball, all I wanted was to lead my high school squad to victory.
Bird made the decision to attempt basketball and college again in 1975, this time with Indiana State, a smaller school.
Bird remembers telling his coworkers this before he quit his job as a garbage truck driver:
“I’ll be heading up there to pick up a little education,” I informed them. When I return, I’ll take over as your leader.
Tragedy came in the year that Bird enrolled at Indiana State University for his collegiate education.
The father of Bird took his own life. This Bird is really effective. His father was both his fishing partner and closest friend.
Bird remarked, “I kind of always felt my dad gave up on us kids, as well as on himself.” My mother and my two younger brothers were still living at home. That was my perspective back then, and it remains my perspective today. I think I handled it quite well.
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