The Boston Celtics preseason officially starts off the annual run at a title for the Celtics. But it was on a day like many of those days that a certain Hick From French Lick (as Celtics Hall of Fame forward Larry Bird is sometimes called) got in his first preseason game with Boston.
Larry Legend of course went on to have quite the career, but on a brisk September day in 1979, the former Indiana State star first stepped on the hardwood with the team he forged a Hall of Fame career with. While it isn’t much in the way of footage, a snippet of that game remains for our viewing enjoyment.
The clip, dragged out of the vault of CLNS Media’s “NBA History & Legends on CLNS” YouTube channel, is a portion of the newsreel covering that event, pitting Bird against Julius Erving and the Philadelphia 76ers.
Watch the clip embedded above to see those very first (and brief and grainy) images of one of the all-time greats making his debut in the NBA.
If you enjoy this pod, check out the “How Bout Them Celtics,” “First to the Floor,” “Celtics Lab,” and the many other New England sports podcasts available on the CLNS Media network.
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