Bird business.

• Author: Hayes, Tom
• Position: Former basketball player and entrepreneur Larry Bird

John Walton can't recall a more hectic week in his 10 years of running Larry Bird Ford. And the craziness had nothing to do with selling a car.

"We've haven't sold this many key chains and license plate holders since we've been open," Walton said four days after the Indiana Pacers named Larry Bird as their ninth NBA head coach.

That's the same Larry Bird who made his name as a youngster from Southern Indiana who led Indiana State to the 1979 NCAA championship game, and who became one of the NBA's all-time greats while leading the Boston Celtics to three NBA championships.

And it's that Larry Bird who is a co-owner of Larry Bird Ford in Martinsville and Larry Bird's Boston Connection in Terre Haute. Phones have been ringing at both businesses since word started floating around in early April that Bird was coming back to Indiana.

"We've been getting calls from all over the place," says Walton, managing partner of Larry Bird Ford. "People just want things with Larry Bird's signature on it. I've sent license plate holders to as far away as California this week. People want to buy anything with his name on it and we can't keep up with the demand."

"We've had TV and radio people through here like you can't imagine," concurs Rick Lundstrom, general manager of Larry Bird's Boston Connection. It's been easy to spot the increase in business linked to the Pacer announcement, he adds. "It's been visible because of all the Pacer hats and shirts."

Boston Connection is a combination restaurant/hotel/banquet facility on U.S. 41 immediately west of Indiana State University in Terre Haute. Its 96 guest rooms are supplemented...