Did Larry Bird work as a garbage collector after dropping out of college? Exploring his peculiar decision to quit Bobby Knight

Larry Bird has been known for his grit inside the basketball court, and this NBA legend is as blue-collar as he can be working as a garbage collector before coming to the NBA.

Growing up in French Lick, Indiana, Bird developed his hard-nosed work ethic growing up in a poor family. His mother worked as a waitress and had to work multiple jobs to support her six kids.

Back in college, Bird had to drop out to look after his daughter after getting divorced from his ex-wife Janet Condra. He decided not to attend community college and found a job as a garbage collector to support his child and make ends meet.

"I loved that job," Bird reflects on being a garbage collector.

"It was outdoors, you were around your friends. Picking up brush, cleaning it up. I felt like I was really accomplishing something. How many times are you riding around your town and you say to yourself, Why don’t they fix that? Why don’t they clean the streets up? And here I had the chance to do that. I had the chance to make my community look better," he added.

Larry Bird gets the attention of Indiana State

Larry Bird's life as a garbage collector was short-lived after he was approached by Coach Bill Hodges to join Indiana State's basketball program. The task of bringing Bird to play for the Sycamores was not easy and it took Hodges quite some time to pitch a future in basketball.

"I said, ‘Yeah, Larry, they’re going to say that about you someday.’ I got up and left. It’s like being a salesman. You know when you’ve made the sale. I just left and let him think about things," Bill Hodges narrates what he said to Bird in a story by Syracuse.

While playing for Indiana State from 1976 to 1979, although Larry never won a collegiate championship, he was able to bag the National College Player of the Year award in 1979 and a two-time Consensus first-team All-American. His jersey number 33 was also retired by the team.