Bird Backing Away As `Larry Legend' -- `Hick From French Lick' Made NBA Click

He came into the NBA 13 years ago as the "Hick from French Lick," the quintessential Hoosier from rural Indiana. But when Boston Celtic forward Larry Bird gave in to a back injury that led to his retirement announcement yesterday in Boston, he left as "Larry Legend" with three championship rings and three league Most Valuable Player awards to his credit.

In his time, Bird, 35, restored a measure of greatness to a faded Celtic dynasty.

Unfortunately for Bird, his body broke before his competitive spirit. Back problems caused him to miss 59 regular-season games over the past two seasons. The deterioration in Bird's game was obvious in his swan song with the Dream Team in Barcelona, Spain, but he was proud to earn Olympic gold.

"It's a very emotional day," Bird said yesterday. "But it's not a sad day because I knew this day was coming. I had one injury I couldn't shake - the back injury. I gave my heart, my body and my soul to the Celtics.

"I would've liked to play a little longer, a couple more years, but there was just no way."

Dave Gavitt, Celtic executive vice president, said Bird will become his assistant and take an active role in community relations.

The Celtics won only 29 games the season before Bird arrived but went 61-21 in 1979-80. He was named rookie of the year. That 32-game improvement was the greatest in NBA history at the time.

Bird's basketball brilliance was not immediately evident. He was recruited by Indiana Coach Bob Knight, but he quit before playing a game because he couldn't handle the big-time atmosphere. Bird went through a difficult period in which he worked on a garbage truck and endured the pain of his father's suicide. He escaped his problems by devoting himself to basketball and found a niche playing for Indiana State.

Dennis Johnson, who played with Bird from 1983-90, credited Bird and Magic Johnson for showing the league that the game was more than just shooting. "The league was on the down slide. . . . They put the league on their shoulders. . . . That's when team play came in. We put a passing attack together with defense. It was basketball, not just scoring."

Some labeled Bird as the "Great White Hope" in a predominantly black sport, but he rejected the redneck stereotype. He viewed himself as a basketball player and a competitor and that's all.

"Larry was the only player in the league that I feared, and he was the smartest player I ever played against. . . . He brought out the best in me," Johnson said.

Said Bird, admitting he'll miss competition: "If you don't play for the Boston Celtics, you never played professional basketball."