Description
Before Larry Bird ever wore the royal blue of the Indiana State Sycamores, or the Celtic green of Boston, he wore the black and gold of the Springs Valley High School Blackhawks. Seemingly just a skinny Indiana kid with average basketball skills, Bird was often overlooked. It wasn’t until his senior year that Bird suddenly emerged as a basketball phenomenon in a state already rich in high school basketball culture.
What was it like to watch Larry Bird first take flight? As if by Magic takes the reader back to those hot, energy-packed gymnasiums, revealing the yet-to-be-told story of how Larry transformed himself, almost game-by-game, from a good basketball player to a breathtaking superstar. There is a deep dive into the mostly forgotten struggles Larry endured at the beginning of his basketball endeavors and the key people who stepped in at just the right moments to keep Bird on the tough road to greatness. Heavily researched, with new insights and information coming from once hard to access newspapers, coaches, teammates, the community, and Bird’s competitors, along with many rare photos of Larry in action, this book conjures the beating heart of a past era. Larry Bird before his magical after.
About the Author
Randy Mills is a retired Oakland City University (Indiana) Distinguished Professor. He is the author of four important books examining the experiences of combat veterans in the Korean Conflict and the Vietnam War, including Summer Wind: A Soldier’s Road from Indiana to Vietnam, coauthored with Roxanne Mills and published by Blue River Press. Other books include the only biography of Jonathan Jennings, Indiana’s first governor, a history of Oakland City College, and a basketball memoir of his high school basketball playing days in Illinois, An Almost Perfect Season. Mills has also authored over ninety professional articles on Indiana and Midwest history. Mills is a recipient of the George C. Roberts Award, given by the Indiana Academy of Social Sciences for excellence in academic scholarship, and a recipient of the Indiana Historical Society’s Dorothy Riker Hoosier Historian Award.
