A Bird in the Hub

Boston Herald reporter Michael Connelly's intriguing history of Boston and basketball credits Larry Bird with rescuing more than the Celtics franchise. Bird's amazing basketball career has been well-chronicled, particularly the story of how a young kid from Indiana returned the Celtics to championship caliber virtually overnight. According to Connelly, the return of the Celtics to glory, led by multi-ethnic stars such as Bird, Robert Parish, Kevin McHale, and Denis Johnson, helped the city heal from racial strife, which had threatened to tear the town apart a few years earlier. Beginning with legend Bill Russell, who battled racism and segregation throughout his time with the team, Connelly provides a piercing parallel history of a city's social turmoil and a team's return to glory.