The 1984 Boston Celtics won an NBA championship that filled in an important line on Larry Bird’s resume. Five years earlier, as a college senior at Indiana State, Bird lost the NCAA final to Magic Johnson and Michigan State. Even though Bird won an NBA crown in 1981 it came against a sub-.500 Houston Rockets team. […]
It had been five years since Larry Bird and Magic Johnson changed the landscape of college basketball with their battle at the 1979 NCAA championship game. Even though both stars had immediately made their mark on the NBA in the ensuing four years—two titles and two Finals MVP for Magic, and one crown for Bird—they had yet to meet again for a championship. The 1984 NBA Finals changed all that.
This article offers a snapshot of 1984 sports, a year highlighted by two great basketball battles for the college & NBA championships, greatness in major league baseball & the NFL, an electric Heisman campaign and a long-awaited title for an emerging hockey legend.