Another famous person from French Link

Some of you may know all-time basketball great Larry Bird by his nickname, "The Hick from French Lick." What you probably do not know is that there was another famous figure in Indiana basketball history who also had a connection with that small town (population 1807).

Marvin Wood, the real-life coach upon which the movie Hoosiers was based, had come to Milan, Indiana from a previous coaching stint at French Lick. Just think: if he had stayed there he might have gotten to coach Bird. However, I expect he would not have swapped that privilege for his legendary state championship at Milan. What most people (outside of Indiana) do not know is that, unlike the school in the movie, Milan did not come out of nowhere to win the state championship in 1954. In 1953, they had gone all the way to the Final Four, so expectations were very high for the team.

The day after Milan won the championship, 40,000 people descended upon the little town of 1150. They lined State Road 101 for 13 miles to greet the team.