French Lick Hoops How Two Boyd Countians Played Basketball on Larry Bird’s Court

French Lick Hoops

How Two Boyd Countians Played

Basketball on Larry Bird’s Court

Gwen Akers

The Ashland Beacon

It was the 1980s, and basketball legends Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, and Dr. J were entertaining kids across the globe. Scott Campbell and Steve Day were no different–both were basketball fans mesmerized by these larger-than-life players.

“This guy named Larry Bird comes on the scene, and I remember seeing him his senior year before the NCAA tournament and being in grade school and watching him,” explained Day. “It was just incredible, the shots he was making at 6’9 or 6’10 from 25 feet away in a college game without a three-point line.”

Day and Campbell met each other playing basketball at the YMCA, Day a Russell Red Devil and Campbell a Boyd County Lion. They became fast friends, bonding over their passion for the game and their passion for Larry Bird and the way he played. For years, it was a joke between the two that they should take a road trip to French Lick, Indiana, to see Larry Bird’s house and play a game on his basketball court. Suddenly, in the summer of 1995, the two decided to make this dream a reality.

One June evening, just before the birth of his son, Campbell received a call from Day telling him that they were going to French Lick the next day–Day had everything mapped out.

“That was before you had cell phones and GPS, so he had the map all highlighted from Ashland to French Lick, Indiana. We got up early, I think it was four or five a.m. We left and started our journey to French Lick, Indiana, and we didn’t know anything other than it was a small country town,” explained Campbell.

“At the time, French Lick was so small it probably made Catlettsburg look like New York City!” commented Day.

From the opening tip-off, the two noticed two main streets–Main Street and Larry Bird Boulevard, confirming they were in the right place. Starving from their road trip, they stopped off at a small diner to get some breakfast and find their bearings.

“We’re sitting there eating breakfast or brunch, and Steve says, ‘I have to go to the restroom.’ Well, he gets up and I’m not really paying attention. He’s gone for what I thought was way too long, so I’m looking around [thinking], ‘Where’s he at?’ and I see him in the kitchen talking to a female cook,” explained Campbell.

Day instantly struck up a conversation with the cook, asking her about French Lick and, of course, about Larry Bird. The woman smiles and, according to Day, said: “Honey, everybody knows where Georgina’s baby boy lives at!”

The two quickly hopped back into the car and began riding toward Bird’s house, knowing what they were looking for thanks to years of movies and documentaries.

“It was a long road, and at the end of it, we found his house. It was super nice, a big old spread. It had two gated drives, one to his house, one to his basketball court,” remembered Day. Between the court and the house, the two could see a tennis court, a swimming pool, and sprawling land. “If you’ve ever seen the movie ‘Blue Chips’ where Nick Nolte is driving down that driveway and goes to talk to Larry Bird, that’s where we were at.”

The court itself was painted green, his name autographed on it alongside the Boston Celtics logo. “We were in awe looking at the place. This is our childhood idol, and, you know, why are we here? We were just laughing, making the best of it,” Campbell commented.

Fully aware of the “no trespassing” signs around the property, the two waited for a moment before noticing the gate on the basketball court was wide open. The two made eye contact and decided it was now or never. Grabbing a basketball from the backseat, the two ran to shoot a few hoops.

Just as they were backing out of the driveway, a red pickup truck came pulling into the driveway–the driver-side window was down. They could see perfectly that it was, in fact, Larry Bird, but also that he was not pleased with them being on his property!

“I rolled my window down, he had his down, and he was the largest human being I had ever seen in my life. The Ford F-350 is a big truck and his head barely fit in the window!” explained Campbell. The two tried to talk to Bird, asking him for his autograph, but all they got back were words we can’t print. The two rushed out of the driveway, scared to death they were going to jail.

After driving a few minutes down the road, though, the two couldn’t resist turning around and catching a few more glimpses at Larry Bird’s house. Over the course of several trips, they saw who they believe was Eddie Bird (Larry Bird’s brother) and even talked to some kids on the side of the road, one of whom said he was Larry Bird’s nephew.

He was hitchhiking up the road toward Bird’s house to go swimming. He and another young kid were climbing into the bed of the truck, and as they were about to get in, Steve said, “I think we made your uncle Larry mad.” The kid said, “What did you do?” Steve said, “Larry came home and caught us on his court.” Bird’s nephew said, “We will walk!” I told Steve he ruined our chances by telling his nephew what we had done.

After many trips circling Bird’s property, we did witness the two young boys heading into the pool area at Bird’s house.

“I still give Steve a hard time today how that was our ticket back onto the property and he blew it for us,” declared Campbell.

“When he [Larry Bird] was cussing us out and looking at us with those steely blue eyes, I felt like Danny Ainge missing a jump shot,” explained Day. “But, if you really look at that, it was almost like playing in a basketball game with him, in a way. I guarantee he treats his opponents just like that.”

Campbell and Day would go on to return to Larry Bird’s house a few times, keeping their love for the player and the mischief and bravery of that summer of 1995 alive. What happens in 1995, stays in 1995, but their experience is surely one they’ll never forget.