Book charts Bird’s life as a ‘human’ hero
By Mike Lunsford
Special to the Tribune-Star
In the preface to his new book, lawyer-turned-author Mark Shaw mentions that it was an enormous respect for Larry Bird that led him to chronicle both Bird’s life and his first season as coach of the Indiana Pacers.
Despite an obvious affection for Bird, Shaw’s Larry Legend (Masters Press, 330 pages, $23), oversteps hero-worship long enough to expose several facets of the former Indiana State University and Boston Celtics superstar that earlier biographies have not effectively touched.
Shaw’s interesting format of alternating chapters on Bird’s life with those about his first year with the Pacers, gives readers two shorter books in one. Bird’s hard-scrabble, southern Indiana upbringing still remains an incredible story, and it is the one that attracts readers most.
A Nashville, Ind., John Denver look-alike, the author manages to capture a more complicated Bird. He may shed a few of his regal garments in the process, but Shaw’s Bird remains an emperor with his crown still intact.
Drawing liberally from a wide variety of earlier books, videos, and interviews, Shaw paints a picture of Bird as a man who is driven by his past to succeed, yet he remains an athletic equivalent of Lon Chaney, ‘‘the man of a thousand faces.’’
As both a person and player, Bird is described at various times by family members, opponents, and friends as ‘‘a country boy,’’ ‘‘a stand-up comedian,’’ ‘‘a total menace,’’ ‘‘a pool hustler,’’ ‘‘a street fighter,’’ ‘‘a new white hope,’’ and ‘‘a mean SOB.’’ The author calls Bird a ‘‘20th Century Huckleberry Finn.’’
Writer Bob Ryan says, ‘‘It is quite possible that nobody knows the real Larry Bird. He may not even know the real person himself.’’ One family member claimed that Bird’s own mother, ‘‘. . . never could figure out Larry.’’
Although the chapters that deal with Bird’s first-year coaching successes are heavily stocked with anecdotes about key games and praise for Bird by the likes of Dennis Rodman and Rick Pitino, it is the biographical side of the book that helps readers understand the enigmatic man who made the difficult transition from idolized player to successful coach.
In overcoming the suicide of his father, a failed first marriage, and an estranged daughter, Bird still emerges as a hero, but one that is more human, complex, and private.
While still a high school sophomore, Bird’s brother, Mark, led Springs Valley in scoring, and Bird remembered, ‘‘Everybody was cheering for him. I wanted to be that guy. I wanted the people cheering for me.’’
Despite Shaw’s more flawed version of Bird, there’s little chance that the cheering will ever stop.
Mike Lunsford can be reached for comment by e-mail at mlunsford@swparke.k12.in.us