But did he invite his daughter from his first marriage to the ceremony?
Hall of party
for Bird
by Steve
Bulpett
10/03/98
SPRINGFIELD --
Lenny Wilkens
stepped to the
podium at
yesterday
morning's
press
conference and
immediately
put the 1998
Hall of Fame
enshrinement
in
perspective.
"It certainly
is an honor
for me to be
here to attend
Larry's
party," he
said.
Though he was
one of seven
people
inducted last
night, this
clearly was
Larry Bird's
show -- all
the way to the
long ovations
and
spontaneous
"Lar-ry,
Lar-ry" chants
throughout the
evening.
And the Celtic
legend was
only too
willing to
share the
honor with the
franchise and
followers from
his playing
days.
"I've always
considered
myself a very
proud
individual,"
he told the
packed Civic
Center
gathering.
"I've always
said I was
proud to come
from a small
town -- French
Lick and West
Baden, Ind. I
was proud to
spend four
great years in
Terre Haute at
Indiana State
University.
"And, yes," he
continued, "I
was very proud
to say I spent
13 years
playing for
the Boston
Celtics."
Bird went on
to thank his
coaches,
including
first Celtic
mentor Bill
Fitch -- who
presented him
last night --
along with his
family and
teammates.
"The one thing
I wish could
happen tonight
is for my
mother to be
here, because
I know she's
very proud
looking down,"
he said of
Georgia, who
died two years
ago. "A few
years back,
she told me,
'For a
blond-headed
snotty young
kid, you did
very well,
Larry. I'm
very proud of
you.' "
Earlier in the
day, he leaned
very heavily
on his Celtic
pride.
"Very
special," Bird
said when
asked about
playing his
entire career
in Boston.
"I've said
this before,
but at the
time I truly
believed if
you didn't
play
basketball for
the Boston
Celtics, you
never played
professional
basketball. I
still have
that feeling.
My allegiance
when I was
playing was to
the Boston
Celtics. I
never even
thought there
was another
team out
there.
"Looking back
now," he
added, "it was
one of the
greatest
things that
ever happened
to me, staying
in one place
and playing
basketball."
Bird liked his
one place. He
connected with
even the most
fickle fans.
"One thing
about the fans
in
Massachusetts
is that they
always
supported our
teams," Bird
said. "They
like winners
here. If
you're
winning,
everything's
OK. If you
don't win,
they get upset
-- which I can
understand,
because that's
the way I
always felt.
If you don't
give 100
percent, they
know.
"The fans are
very
knowledgeable
here. They
expected for
us to win
every year,
and that's no
different from
what I
expected of
our teams. We
go way back. I
played a lot
of years here,
and the fans
always treated
me very
special. And I
always tried
to go out and
play the type
of game they
like to see.
The bottom
line was to
win the
basketball
game, and I
always
understood
that."
The team Bird
joined last
night humbled
the man
generally
acknowledged
to be among
the top five
players in the
game's
history.
Bird enters
the Hall along
with Wilkens,
Marques Haynes
of the Harlem
Globetrotters,
former Celtic
Arnie Risen,
former 76ers
coach Alex
Hannum,
University of
Texas women's
coach Jody
Conradt and
Aleksandar
Nikolic of
Yugoslavia.
"It's a very
elite club,"
Larry said.
"Very few
players or
coaches ever
get the
opportunity to
be enshrined
in the Hall of
Fame, so
obviously it's
a very special
day. You can
pick the 50
greatest
players or 100
greatest
players, but
if you're in
the Hall of
Fame, that's
something
special.
That's what
it's all
about."
Bird admitted,
however, that
he wasn't
always
cognizant of
how cool a
place the Hall
could be.
"I never even
thought about
it when I was
young," he
said. "I never
even heard
about the Hall
of Fame when I
was a kid."
Bird received
the expected
queries about
memorable
moments, but
his response
spoke more to
Bostonians
than
basketball.
"Actually, one
of the
greatest
moments that
is still very
special to me,
and probably
the greatest
night I've
ever seen, was
after my
career was
over when they
had Larry Bird
Night in the
Boston
Garden," he
said. "It's
still amazing
to me to know
that they
could have a
night for one
of their
ex-players and
fill the arena
like they did
and raise all
the money that
they did that
night for
charity. Just
sitting there
and looking
around and
seeing every
seat filled is
something I
won't ever
forget."