​FRENCH LICK — Larry Bird.That’s usually how every sentence starts when describing the town of French Lick, near the Hoosier National Forest and nearby West Baden, Indiana.The two towns were once bitter rivals in high school basketball, becoming the playground for famed figures both beloved and dubious through the 1900s and into the 1950s.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementBut there’s more to the area than just “The hick from French Lick.” World Series champions once did spring training in the two towns. A heavyweight icon used West Baden Springs to train. Feared mobsters like Big Jim Colosimo who ran the Chicago Outfit got married at West Baden Springs. Al Capone was rumored to have frequented West Baden and French Lick as a way to escape the attention of life in bustling Chicago.French Lick and West Baden aren’t just towns. They are iconic dual cities that sit next to each other, blending the past and present through sports.Larry Bird and his high school, Springs Valley, share a rich history with iconic individuals and teams that perhaps the average sports fan doesn’t know about. It’s time to unlock the history of the past and uncover the truth behind the sports icons of French Lick and West Baden.Springs Valley High School athletic director Jerry Chaney has learned quickly that his job isn’t just to make sure high school sports function through every season.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementChaney recalled the voice he heard. A person with a thick New England accent that was begging for entry to see the inside of Springs Valley High School, the school Bird attended before his Hall of Fame career for Indiana State University and the NBA’s Boston Celtics.”I give out 20 tours a year,” Chaney said. “People want to know about Larry Bird. It’s one of the neatest things I do whenever people come in from Boston, to North Dakota to California … they want to know about Larry and his accomplishments.”This wasn’t the first time that a random stranger just walked up to the entry of the main office.”The guy had literally driven all the way here from Boston,” Chaney said. “He had the thickest accent I had ever heard, and he thanked us for letting him see the inside. Bird fans, they’re true diehards.”AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementChaney idolized Bird himself having grown up in Bedford, located 28 miles northeast of French Lick.”My dad used to let me stay up past 10-10:30 to watch the delayed broadcasts of the Boston Celtics games,” Chaney said.Springs Valley High School athletic director Jerry Chaney stands below the retired jerseys of Larry Bird in French Lick, Indiana on Tuesday, April 28, 2026.Inside the gym are Bird’s No. 33 jerseys that hang in the rafters from his career as a member of the Boston Celtics, Team USA, Indiana State, Indiana All-Star and Springs Valley.Walk around and there are pictures of not only Larry, but of his older brother Mark and younger brother Eddie, the latter who was also an Indiana All-Star and pla