Dinah Mattingly is the wife of the former Boston Celtics power forward & coach Larry Bird. Over his 13-year NBA career, Mattingly’s husband, Dinah led his team to three NBA titles and bagged three MVP awards.
While a star during his playing career, off the court, Bird’s life has always been testing for the media to record or talk about. The anonymity more or so is also pervasive with respect to his life with Dinah Mattingly, Bird’s second wife. Thus far, Mattingly is more recognized as the wife of the NBA Hall Of Fame, Larry Bird, but turns out she is responsible for a few or two notable moments in Bird’s life, especially in regards to his personal life.
Let’s learn some exclusive sets of data defining Dinah Mattingly’s bio, age, career, net worth, & other similar facts.
Dinah Mattingly Is The Daughter Of A Former FBI Agent
Dinah Mattingly, also Dinah Bird, who was born on November 16, 1954, apparently is the daughter of an FBI agent and is a native of New York. Though some other records suggest she is from West Baden Indiana.
Although not much about her family is known, what at least has been discussed is Mattingly apparently has a brother named Doug Mattingly. The now 68 years old Dinah went to high school in Terre Haute and later studied at Indiana State University.
Dinah Mattingly & Her Husband Larry Bird Have Been Together Since College
The Indiana native Dinah was Larry Bird’s longtime girlfriend since college. Mattingly and Bird married on October 31, 1989. The NBA executive proposed to Mattingly when they were driving along in the former’s Ford Bronco.
They, at the time, had been dating for 12 years. As per sources, Bird’s words to Dinah whilst asking for the marriage were,
”You can wear this if you want to.”
Former Boston Celtics star Bird married Dinah on Saturday in a private ceremony at noon at the then-home of Terre Haute businessman Max Gibson, according to Glen Ankney.
Bird, Gibson, and Ankney were the partners in a Terre Haute hotel-restaurant complex called Larry Bird’s Boston Connection. Ankney at the time reported only Bird, Mattingly, Gibson, and his wife, Jackie, attended the ceremony.
The nuptials included only five other people other than the bride and the groom. After the marriage, the couple adopted two children, son Connor and daughter Mariah.
The supposedly five-foot-four-inches tall, Dinah is also the stepmother of Bird’s daughter, Corrie Bird from his former marriage to Janet Condra. Although the couple has always avoided interviews and the public sphere, Bird and Dinah are still married to each other.
Dinah Met Bird During His Struggling Phase
Larry Bird and his wife Dinah met at Indiana State State University. They happened to encounter each other during one of the more chaotic times of Bird’s life. The West Baden-born basketball player’s father committed suicide a year earlier. In addition, his family was struggling financially.
Further, Larry had just been out of his marriage to his childhood friend, Janet Condra. They had tied the knot right after Bird’s enrollment at Indiana State. Burd and Condra, however, divorced in 1976. While they reconciled and had a baby, the couple ultimately decided to end their marriage for good and all shortly afterward.
Even when Dinah and Bird were engaged times weren’t good for Bird. While he was then a Celtics player and was enjoying a good season, he had a broken nose and a fractured bone under his left eye, which forced him to wear protective goggles.
Dinah Mattingly Helped Larry Control His Rage
Apparently, Dinah was more than just a girlfriend to Larry even during the beginning of their relationship.
For instance, it was Mattingly who would make him think twice when Bird was playing for the Boston in the early years as he was prone to making rash decisions, presumably off the court. He then was also notorious for being impetuous and hot-headed.
NBA Hall Of Fame, Larry Bird with his wife, Dinah Mattingly. Getty
Mattingly would reportedly tell the Celtics no 33,
“I’d think about that if I were you.”
Bird in the book, When The Game Was Ours, says his second wife, Mattingly talked him out of doing a lot of dumb things. She also helped him navigate a private life that became very public as his stature grew.
Bird says Mattingly has always been the mature one and that he was lucky she was always independent and always supported him. Dinah apparently was always the mature one. Since Condra gave birth to her and Larry’s baby after their divorce, the six-foot-nine-inches tall former athlete denied considering the child as his own.
Dinah Mattingly Made Larry Reconcile With His Daughter, Corrie Bird
As Larry refused to see Condra and his daughter for years, it was Dinah who talked the Larry Legend to go and talk with his daughter, Corrie Bird. Even when Corrie tried to reach out to Bird and he wouldn’t respond it was Dinah who would talk to her.
Mattingly also urged the Indiana-born through the years to make contact with Corrie and attempt to forge a relationship with her.
Corrie’s parents, Larry and Janet married before Bird became the NBA superstar. Bird was then a student at Indiana State University and he had been in a relationship with Condra since high school. They, however, ended their union a year after their marriage.
Larry Refused To Acknowledge His Own Daughter
After divorcing on October 31, 1976, Condra gave birth to her and Bird’s daughter, Corrie on August 14, 1977. Initially, Larry denied he was the father and rejected Condra’s request for child support.
Later, however, a DNA test proved he was Corrie’s father. In his rookie season with the Boston Celtics in 1979, he agreed to set up an account so Condra could withdraw monthly child support until their daughter turned 18.
Even so, Larry refused to be part of Corrie’s growing up. Corrie apparently tried her best to connect with her father through the years, even studying at Indiana State University like him.
Through the years, Corrie would send her father letters, photos, and even school report cards but Larry just didn’t respond. It was Mattingly who made an effort for Corrie to feel welcomed in their family.
Dinah would strike up conversations with Corrie and invite her to watch Pacers games where Larry at the time was a coach. While Bird declined to comment about his daughter through the years, Mattingly would reportedly leave a pair of tickets for Corrie and a friend to watch a Pacers game.
Once after one of his games as a coach, Bird finally spoke with Corrie.
Dinah Two Children With Larry Bird
As mentioned, Dinah and Bird have two adopted children. Mattingly and her ex-NBA star husband, Bird’s son, Connor was born in 1992, though it is unclear when his sister Mariah was born.
While it’s a mystery as to what the Jr. Bird has been up to recently, back in 2013, the star kid made headlines when the authorities at Indiana University arrested him after he reportedly attempted to drive over one of his ex-girlfriends.
Mattingly’s daughter, Mariah, on the other hand, is an event manager. She is also reportedly PS&E’s Event Coordinator and Special Projects Manager.
What Is DinahMattingly Husband, Larry Bird Net Worth?
With a reported net worth of over $75 million, Mattingly’s ex-NBA athlete husband is far and away, a rich man. To have a bit of perspective on his richness there are some facts that might be worth the consideration.
During his time with the Boston Celtics, Dinah’s longtime partner proved to be both a lethal scorer and a driven competitor. Those two factualities, along with his three NBA titles, helped him command a large salary.
Despite pulling in a shade over $24 million in the NBA and building up a massive net worth, Bird remained a simple man with some ordinary interests. For all of his fame and fortune, the three-time NBA champion still got his greatest pleasures from some humble avenues.
In addition to his NBA salary, Larry also enjoyed some huge money with his endorsement deals and post-playing career as an NBA executive.
