TERRE HAUTE —
Indiana State University’s basketball star Larry Joe Bird, who stands 6 feet 9 inches tall, will soon be dwarfed by a Hulman Center statue that will honor the basketball legend, who also became an NBA all-star with the Boston Celtics, Olympian and an Indiana Pacers coach and executive.
An all-bronze, 15-foot tall statue, which excludes any additional height from a base, is being crafted by Vigo County sculptor Bill Wolfe, who has promoted the idea for the past eight years.
It is to be dedicated at ISU’s Hulman Center in fall 2013.
Wolfe said Monday that he wanted to be sure that Bird’s statue was taller than any of his longtime basketball nemesis and now friend, Magic Johnson, who played for Michigan State University as well as the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers.
“I don’t have anything against Magic,” Wolfe said.
“Larry is just better,” Wolfe and Jack Fox, director of development for the Indiana State University Foundation, said in unison at Wolfe’s studio on Ohio Street in Terre Haute.
“I think [the statue] will be an interesting point of conversation for Larry and Magic when they see each other again,” Fox added.
“We think that will be a great event when we unveil this and dedicate it. This will be great for the city and university. It will be another icon in the city that people come to see,” Fox said.
Fox said it also will be a good tool for basketball recruitment.
“You can walk a [prospective player] by that statue and say, ‘This is where Larry Bird played and you could be in the same place as him,’” Fox said.
Funding for the statue started in 2007 with The Larry Legend Foundation, a student organization that sought to promote honoring Bird with a statute at Hulman Center. The goal was to raise $135,000 for a statue at least 13 feet tall, with more funds for a taller statue.
Controversy stalled the project last year after a donor came forward to complete the statue, but had sought a different artist than Wolfe. Leadership in the ISU Foundation also changed.
As the new development director, Fox said he met with the donor, who wants to remain anonymous, and “after some thoughts and discussions with the donor, we agreed that Bill [Wolfe] would be the best choice to make that happen. I was glad to see that change happen,” Fox said.
“I am very excited. I grew up in Terre Haute. I was 9 years old in 1979 when ISU was in the [NCAA] tournament,” Fox said. “I remember all the hype, but at 9 years old you don’t realize how big it is. Now it is neat to be a part of this honoring of Larry.”
Fox also remembers a song, “Indiana has a new state bird,” played on radio stations in Terre Haute after ISU lost in the NCAA championship game to Michigan State 75-64 in the most-watched college game in history.
“I think it is long overdue,” Fox said. “I think things just lined up where we had the generosity of someone who just wanted to see it happen and we have a gifted artist who has had a vision for this for a long time,” Fox said.
Fox said university archives were researched for photographs of Bird, including several profiles of Bird that Wolfe will use for the statute.
Wolfe said he will take a photograph and measure that to make a wood cutout of the profile. That cutout will then be used to check that profile during sculpting.
Wolfe had made a maquette of Bird eight years ago, but plans to make a new version, which will be reviewed by the donor, the university and university foundation as well as Bird.
This time Wolfe plans to focus on the face of Bird for the statue. “I am not concerned about the body as much, but it is the face,” Wolfe said.
Wolfe now has four months to make the maquette and finish a clay statute. Then Sincerus Art Castings in Indianapolis will have four months to create the bronze statute.
“I am making him in halves, so it can be easily transported to the foundry,” Wolfe added.
In addition to the statue, Fox said the foundation now has a goal to raise $50,000 to create a Larry Legends Scholarship. In an effort to raise money for that scholarship, the foundation will sell copies of the new maquette for Bird’s statue.
Those will be produced with paid orders, Fox said.
The fundraiser for the scholarship “is about the students and about giving opportunities that they may not have had otherwise and it is about reinvesting in the university and our community,” Fox said.
The foundation’s website is www.indstatefoundation.org, and donations can be earmarked for the Larry Legends Scholarship. The foundation can be reached at (812) 514-8400.
Reporter Howard Greninger can be reached at (812) 231-4204 or howard.greninger@tribstar.com.
News
Related Photos
-
Multi-media artist: Artist Bill Wolfe will soon start working on a statue of Larry Bird. Here, he poses in his studio with the original maquette he crafted in 2004. (Tribune-Star/Joseph C. Garza)
-
Tribune-Star/Joseph C. Garza Detail down to the mustache: Bill Wolfe's original maquette of Indiana State University basketball legend Larry Bird included his mustache and trademark shooting form.
-
Tribune-Star/Joseph C. Garza From image to bronze: Artist Bill Wolfe displays the photo he is working off of for the Larry Bird statue at his studio on Ohio Street.
Discussion
Larry Bird statue plans back on track and bigger than ever
Sculpture to be in place outside Hulman Center by fall 2013
- News
-
-
Relic from another age: Massive find
A mastodon that lived in the Wabash Valley thousands of years ago is making big news today.
-
Game Over: Financial tightening causes VCSC to drop St. Patrick’s from athletic schedule
St. Patrick’s School athletic teams will not have an opportunity to compete against their Vigo County School Corp. middle school counterparts next year.
-
Katelyn Newell finally at home
After nearly five months, 8-year-old Katelyn Newell finally returned home Thursday evening — with a new heart.
-
Indiana State U. Police officer honored with Artz Award
Thursday was a special day for Indiana State University Police Officer Christopher Heleine in multiple ways.
-
City Council considering three for consultant
Three different tax professionals vied Thursday for a chance to become a “financial consultant” to the Terre Haute City Council.
-
Clay County sheriff warns of bank card scam
The Clay County Sheriff’s Department has received information regarding a scam targeting residents, according to a news release from the sheriff’s department.
-
State Police seek help with Sullivan County homicide
Indiana State Police detectives from the Putnamville Post are seeking help from the public with the nearly six-month investigation into the death of 85-year-old Lowell R. Badger, a rural Sullivan County farmer.
-
Man who attacked Vigo deputy arrested
A Terre Haute man accused of attacking a Vigo County sheriff’s deputy earlier this week is facing felony charges in the Vigo County jail.
-
INDOT to bid final 641 phase
The final construction phase of the 641 bypass is scheduled to let for bids on Dec. 11, according to the Indiana Department of Transportation.
-
District office moves north
The Southwest District office of the Purdue Extension service has been moved north from Vincennes to Terre Haute.
-
Day is done…
The sun sets Thursday evening as seen from south of Terre Haute.
-
Banks of the Wabash Festival is more than just yearly entertainment
Pioneers think counterintuitively. Where others see widespread apathy, they focus on the possibility for progress. In a way, the 2013 Year of the River celebration began in the 1970s.
-
Planning session aims to better Terre Haute
It’s not yet clear what will come of it, but dozens of community leaders spent the whole day Wednesday trying to develop a plan – or collection of plans – to make Terre Haute “a better community.”
-
Education funding boost won’t benefit all schools
In the budget bill passed by the General Assembly last month, there is more money allocated for K-12 education over the next two years, but that doesn’t mean every school will get more dollars.
- Day of Action job options open
-
Park Board renames land around Memorial Stadium
Land surrounding Indiana State University’s Memorial Stadium on Terre Haute’s east side has been designated as Veterans Memorial Park, following a unanimous vote Wednesday from the Terre Haute Park Board.
-
Deputy suffers minor injury during incident
A Vigo County Sheriff’s deputy received a minor injury to his hand Tuesday night while subduing a drunken driving suspect who fled behind a North Terre Haute business.
-
Man accused of child neglect gets new trial date
An Oct. 15 trial date has been set for a Terre Haute man arrested in November for child neglect after he and his wife allegedly tied up and confined their adopted children in the family home.
-
Police find meth labs, arrest Pierson Township man
Police uncovered two active methamphetamine labs in southeastern Vigo County on Monday, leading to the arrest of a Pierson Township man.
-
New date set for attempted murder trial
A new trial date has been set for a Terre Haute woman charged with attempted murder.
-
Rose-Hulman professor researching ways to make homes storm safe
Tornadoes produce greater uplift forces than hurricanes, which can flatten homes such as in Moore Okla., south of Oklahoma City.
-
Group wants to connect downtown Terre Haute with the Wabash River
Fairbanks Park is underutilized.
The Wabash River is peaceful and inviting, but there is some concern about its cleanliness as well as pollution levels. Also, people can’t get on the river unless they have a boat. -
New conservancy district appoints first directors
Members of the first board of directors of a new lake conservancy district were appointed Tuesday by the Vigo County Board of Commissioners.
-
Vigo law enforcement signs Triad charter to protect seniors
Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller joined Vigo County law enforcement and community activists Tuesday to sign the county’s first Triad charter, becoming the 22nd Triad in Indiana.
-
Wabash Valley Red Cross wraps up Save the Day Campaign
The American Red Cross Wabash Valley Chapter’s 2013 annual meeting concluded the 17th annual Save the Day Campaign, and the results lifted the spirits of all who were involved.
-
Some Vigo roads washed out
Spring storms resulted in $250,000 in damages to roads in southern Vigo County, with costs including sand and labor to save homes near river bottoms, said county highway Assistant Superintendent Dan Bennett.
-
County Council votes $78K toward rail spur
County officials voted Tuesday night to make good on a 2011 promise to help improve a railroad spur just north of Terre Haute for Menard Inc.
-
Spring flooding damages future CSO holding lagoon
Flood waters from the Wabash River have done costly damage to one of the city-owned “lagoons” on former International Paper property.
-
Vigo tops state average for IREAD-3 scores
The Vigo County School Corp. exceeded the state average in the percentage of students passing the state’s mandatory Grade 3 reading test, IREAD-3.
-
Storms cause minor damage in Valley
Tuesday morning storms in the Wabash Valley caused thousands of Duke Energy customers to lose power.
- More News Headlines
-
Bridge Collapse Survivor: 'Rough Day'
Officials: Tsarnaev Friend Linked to Slaying
Raw: Trucker Bumps I-5 Bridge Before Collapse
Major Detours Following Wash. Bridge Collapse
Jersey Shore Open for Business
Raw: Texas Deputy Shot by Colo. Suspect Honored
Raw Video: Washington State Bridge Collapse
Officials: Truck Hit Bridge Before Collapse
American Held in Grisly Czech Murders
Obama:Sexual Assault Threatens Trust in Military
First Person: Mom Discusses Famous Tornado Photo
Raw: Memorial Day Flags Placed at Arlington
Raw: Jersey Shore Reopens for Summer
UK-bound Pakistan Plane Diverted, 2 Men Arrested
New Wheelchair Lift Promises More Access
Raw: Scuffles in London After Hacking Death
Boy Scouts Approve Plan to Accept Gay Boys
Johnson: Don't Blame Islam or UK Policy
Sheriff: No Sign Killing of 2 Kids Was Planned
Two Suspects in Murder Known to London Police
AK-47-wielding thug may be the most bumbling crook ever
Oklahoma Survivors, Heroes Survey Damage
Trout's cycle a boost for Angels
Raw: New Video of Deadly Oklahoma Tornado
Kim Kardashian Flaunts Pregnant Bikini Body in Greece
NBA star pledges $1M to help tornado recovery
Shakira's Shocking Talent
Morgan Freeman falls asleep on air
GRAPHIC: Blood-Soaked Machete Killer Caught on Tape
Elin Nordegren Furious With Lindsey Vonn For Parading Kids in Public
Camera Captures Climber As He Loses Grip And Falls
Helen Mirren Meets with Dying Boy in Queen Elizabeth's Place
Crowd Chants '¡Si, Se Puede!' After Passage of Immigration Bill
DWTS Crowns a Winner
Police Ram House to End Hostage Standoff
Demi Moore a Rocks Bikini at Harry Morton's Family House
Anthony Weiner: I'm running for New York City mayor
Kate Middleton's Dress Flies Up
VIRAL: Baby makes epic soccer goal
The Hangover Baby All Grown Up
