Bird initially joined Mansfield on a trial basis, and played well enough to earn himself a contract, and became a mainstay in the Stags' central defence for the next eleven seasons.
He made his Mansfield debut in a Division Four match against Chester City on 21 October 1972.
[1] In his eleven seasons at Field Mill, Bird played 450 first-team games, placing him fourth on Mansfield's all-time appearance list, and scored 63 goals.
Two days later, he got his testimonial against Aston Villa at Field Mill in front of a 2,903 crowd.
He retired from professional football at the end of the season, and moved back to the Mansfield area, where he played for several local non-league teams before hanging up his boots for good.