As If by Magic: The Story of Larry Bird’s Indiana High School Basketball Days

The games that started it all! Before Larry Bird was a Celtic, he was a Blackhawk. Seemingly just a skinny kid with average basketball skills, Bird was often overlooked. It wasn’t until his senior year that Bird suddenly emerged as a basketball superstar. Now in the spotlight, Larry Bird honed his skills, finding inspiration from his coaches, teammates, siblings, community, and competitors. Throughout his high school basketball career, including only two years playing at the varsity level, he averaged 31 points, 21 rebounds, and 4 assists. While Bird’s high school performance may have started off unassuming, it was about to take him farther than he could have imagined years earlier. The self-proclaimed ＂hick from French Lick,＂ Larry Bird is a Hall of Fame legend.

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.