Episode
The Lost Years of Larry Bird with Keith O'Brien
- Podcast
- The Brian D. O'Leary Show
- Published
- Mar 8, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 2505
- Processing state
not_requested
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Summary
Guest: Keith O'Brien, author of HEARTLAND: A Forgotten Place, an Impossible Dream, and The Miracle of Larry Bird by Keith O'Brien (Atria Books, March 3, 2026) https://amzn.to/47ghvEE Podcast Release Date: March 7, 2026 Episode Length: 42 minutes *** EPISODE DESCRIPTION: Larry Bird is one of basketball's all-time greats, but there's a chapter of his story that's rarely told. Between 1974 and 1979, from his brief time at Indiana University through his magical season at Indiana State, Bird nearly walked away from basketball entirely. In this episode, Brian O'Leary sits down with journalist and New York Times best-selling author Keith O'Brien to discuss his meticulously researched new book HEARTLAND , which fills in this forgotten narrative with unprecedented detail. Through interviews with teammates, coaches, photographers, and dozens of people who were there, O'Brien paints a vivid portrait of a shy kid from rural Indiana who changed sports history—even though he never wanted the spotlight. We discuss Bird's poverty-stricken upbringing in French Lick, his time as a garbage collector, his legendary media boycott, the iconic Sports Illustrated photo shoot, and even a softball tournament in which he beat Joe Montana. This is Larry Bird like you've never heard him before. *** TIMESTAMPS: [0:00] Introduction and Sports Illustrated covers [7:38] Keith's journalism career: Salem to Boston Globe [10:21] Why Bird left Indiana University after just weeks [12:30] Bird's $75 arrival at IU and feeling out of place [14:27] Working as a garbage collector in French Lick [16:34] How Heartland reads like a novel [19:01] Writing the book without Larry's participation [20:23] Bird's famous media boycott throughout college [23:10] The legendary Sports Illustrated photo shoot (October 1977) […