Mu TiezhuThis name may sound unfamiliar to young people today, but thirty or forty years ago, he was a legend in the history of Chinese basketball, and he can be described as a household name - because of his height, but also because of his record.
As a leading figure in Chinese basketball in two eras, Yao Ming once said: He has always regarded Mu Tiezhu as his idol, but at the time of Mu Tiezhu's death, he was not qualified to talk to him.
Today, let's take a look at the wonderful life of this Chinese basketball giant, known as Asia's No. 1 center.
A displaced, adolescence
In 1949, Mu Tiezhu was born into a poor family in Dongming County, Heze City, Shandong Province.
How poor is his family, when Mu Tiezhu was young, there were five people in his family, who had no fixed place to live, wandering around, begging for food to make a living.
Heze is also a place prone to flooding, when Mu Tiezhu was seven or eight years old, one year during the Chinese New Year, the Yellow River was flooded, and other families sat at home to eat reunion dinner, but Mu Tiezhu's family wandered to Shanxi, found a broken cave that was abandoned, and lived in it to starve.
Mu Tiezhu's family is of normal height, but he has grown a big and tall person, and after he became famous, he often joked: "When I was a child, I didn't know what medicine I took wrong, and I grew so big." ”
By the time he was 16 years old, he had already grown to 2 meters tall. His meal is not small, and he eats more than a pound of food in one meal. But in those difficult years, their family's monthly ration was only 45 catties, and at his consumption rate, the family's ration was not enough for him to eat alone.
Fortunately, at that time, his sister was on the border of Xinjiang. At that time, there was a group of demobilized soldiers every year. Participated in the construction of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps. There you just have to participate in labor. Having a full meal is basically not a problem.
In this way, Mu Tiezhu's family moved to Xinjiang. Since then, it has basically stabilized. The place where they were located was today's Emin County, Tacheng.
After arriving in Xinjiang, Mu Tiezhu never had to worry about eating, when he was young, he could eat half a ton of flour a year, which was more than the total amount of his sister's family of five in a year.
After worrying about food, I began to worry about my clothes again. Because his height far exceeds that of ordinary people, in that era when the average height of Chinese men is only 1.6 meters, it is very difficult to buy clothes that fit, and shoes often cannot be found in the right size, it is said that his shoes are 54 sizes, about 33 cm in length.
Not only was he "overstretched" in terms of clothing, but the tools of production and labor were also unsuitable for him, and he was asked to dig the ground, and the hoe used by ordinary people was too short for him. Let him drive the tractor, and he can't sit in the driver's seat. Let him go and drive the donkey cart, but the donkey thinks it is too heavy, and would rather be pumped than move.
During the years he participated in the construction of Xinjiang, jokes about his height were widely circulated in the local area.
A twist of fate
If Mu Tiezhu had stayed in Xinjiang to participate in the construction, it is estimated that there would be no legendary life later. And the turning point of fate was in 1968, when he went back to his hometown Dongming to visit relatives, and was watched by the crowd on the way, after all, such a tall giant, it is difficult not to attract attention.
Coincidentally, when the Shandong Provincial Sports Commission selected sports talents in Dongming County that year, the director of the Sports Commission happened to find Mu Tiezhu, who was about to sell eggs in the market.
Director Qiwei immediately made a decision: It's a pity not to play basketball for such a tall person.
Mu Tiezhu himself was also flattered, this is a good thing to encounter a pie falling from the sky, how could he not agree to be born in a poor family, so Mu Tiezhu was lucky to be recommended to the Shandong Provincial Sports Commission as a sports special talent.
But who would have thought that a few days later, Mu Tiezhu would be returned to the Dongming County Sports Committee. The reason is: Mu Tiezhu has not received professional basketball training before and cannot represent the provincial team.
At that time, it was very rare to have a person of Mu Tiezhu's height, and the National Sports Commission didn't want to waste talents after learning about his situation, so he asked him to the National Sports Commission at the cost of twenty basketballs.
But at that time, it was a special era, and big-character posters were everywhere, but serious people couldn't find them. The entire sports system is basically paralyzed, how can anyone take care of Mu Tiezhu. Therefore, when Mu Tiezhu first arrived at the National Sports Commission, he trained with a track and field coach for half a year, but he never had the opportunity to touch basketball.
Things are turning aroundYu Bangjiappeared, Yu Bangji, then director of the Sports Committee of Huangshi City, Hubei Province, when he received a notice that Mu Tiezhu was going to be transferred from the National Sports Commission to Huangshi, when no one wanted him, Yu Bangji readily agreed.
Who is Yu Bangji?
In 1946, before the founding of the People's Republic of China, General Sun Liren, who graduated from the Virginia Military Academy in the United States, established a troop basketball team, and Yu Bangji was the main force of this team.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Yu Bangji served as the captain and head coach of the Bayi basketball team. After the turbulent period began, the Bayi team was disbanded, and Yu Bangji was transferred to Huangshi City as the director of the sports committee.
Yu BangjiFrom the moment he met Mu Tiezhu, he decided that although Mu Tiezhu had zero foundation, he was a good seedling worth cultivating - he not only had an advantage in height, was smart and studious, and was very diligent in training, so Yu Bang Keken took him in.
At this time, Mu Tiezhu was 19 years old, for basketball players, it was too late to start practicing basketball at this age, and the bones were developed and stereotyped, but talent is not something that everyone has, Mu Tiezhu has entered a new stage of life after practicing basketball with this teacher for a year and a half.
In 1973, the Bayi team, which was disbanded during the turbulent period, was re-established, and outstanding athletes were routinely selected from local military districts, including Mu Tiezhu.
His height advantage doomed him to not be an ordinary basketball player. The arrival of Mu Tiezhu, a power center, is the icing on the cake for the Bayi team.
Since then, the Bayi team has won the 1975 and 1979 National Games championships, and once scored 80 points in a single game in the game, which can be said to be invincible all over the country.
In the eight years from 1975 to 1983, the Bayi players led by him helped the Chinese team that returned to the Asian basketball scene to achieve five consecutive championships. Among them, he is a four-time Asian Championship champion and one Asian Games champion. This must be the result of collective hard work, but Mu Tiezhu's calm performance is also indispensable, and he began to have the title of "Dinghai God Needle".
Mu Tiezhu's style of play, although slow but steady, is unstoppable once it is launched. He's the guy on the team who controls the basketball board. Just like the famous sentence of Akagi Goken in "Slam Dunk": The one who controls the rebound can control the game!
Mu Tiezhu's height advantage on the field is very obvious, as long as he is in the penalty area, he is basically a sure win, and the people who defend him can't do anything about him, and sometimes they don't even know where the ball is. Other basketball players need to jump to shoot, but for Mu Tiezhu, scoring goals is simply easy, and he can do it by stepping on his toes, as long as he is on the court, he must score at least twenty or thirty points per game.
Zhang Weiping once commented on him: He is the best passing center in the world basketball world.
So some people have speculated that if Mu Tiezhu went to the NBA back then, he would definitely be the overlord of the basket.
Basketball giants at their peak
At the age of 30, Mu Tiezhu has not yet started a family. The leadership of the team has a headache for his life's events.
Just at this time, Mu Tiezhu also began to become famous, and there was a person who didn't like basketball. The female fan took the initiative to write him an enthusiastic letter.
After the leader found out about this, he hurriedly brought the female fan to the team and arranged for her to meet Mu Tiezhu.
This female fan's name is Wang Zhuanhong, although she is also the main force of the basketball team in the factory where she works, and her height is not short, 172cm, but standing next to Mu Tiezhu, she still looks so petite.
Later, the two got married, and the physical labor brigade gave them a house.
The couple are very popular, the wedding is very lively, in addition to buying furniture, the rest of the money was used by Mu Tiezhu to hold a banquet, and a wedding cost him all his savings at that time.
The couple spent their lives happily and harmoniously.
In 1976, Mu Tiezhu's fate was affected by the diplomatic relations between China and Japan, which were in the honeymoon period of the normalization of diplomatic relations.
Mu Tiezhu is naturally the focus of attention of the people of the two countries, and the Japanese people are particularly curious about Mu Tiezhu.
During a live TV game, the moment he hit the shot, the commentator blurted out without hesitation:Tokyo Tower turns and shoots a two-point shot!
The audience instantly understood - yes, it's too apt, Mu Tiezhu is not "Tokyo Tower".
Tokyo Tower was completed in 1958 with a height of 332 meters, and the term "Tokyo Tower" is used to describe Mu Tiezhu, which shows that his height shocked the Japanese. At that time, his popularity among the Japanese people had even reached the point where people knew who he was talking about just by mentioning his nickname.
Although this metaphor is indeed very appropriate, at that time, not only the Japanese, but also our own people, the height of Mu Tiezhu was a mystery.
After becoming famous, Mu Tiezhu had two things that he particularly disliked: one was that he refused to take photos with fans, and the other was that he didn't measure his height for others.
It may be due to the fact that for so many years, he has been walking on the street and has always been watched by people with curious eyes.
Regarding his height, he reported 216 meters, Jinan Military Region reported 220 meters, CCTV commentary is 224 meters and so on.
And this mystery was solved by the Japanese in this Sino-Japanese basketball game.
At that time, a Japanese clothing company expressed its willingness to sponsor a custom suit for each member of the Chinese basketball team, but the premise was that the Chinese team must wear this suit during their stay in Japan.
At that time, the Chinese team members still didn't know what sponsorship was, and they didn't know that they were actually advertising for free. I didn't think much about it, so I happily agreed.
It was this opportunity that Mu Tiezhu confusedly asked the Japanese to measure their height: 228 meters.
Since then, everyone has figured out how tall he really is.
Life after retirement
In 1987, Mu Tiezhu, who was nearly 40 years old, officially retired after insisting on participating in the 6th National Games.
After retiring, Mu Tiezhu worked as a basketball coach for several years. By the time he retired, he enjoyed the rank of deputy division. In 1999, he was awarded the title of "New China Basketball 50 Heroes" by the Chinese Basketball Association in recognition of his contribution to Chinese basketball.
In his 14 years with the national team alone, his long-distance running mileage is equivalent to reaching the summit of Mount Everest 5,775 times. The height of basketball players and the training intensity of track and field athletes have made Mu Tiezhu's body overdrawn severely, suffering from lumbar disc herniation, venous embolism, cardiovascular and other diseases, and his biggest dream after retirement is to be healthy.
However, he has always been an optimistic person, even if he is injured, he still faces life positively and optimistically, don't look at his big hands, but he is very dexterous, and has done a lot of small work: repairing electrical appliances, repairing cars, motorcycles, and even often sewing things with a sewing machine.
After retiring from basketball, he rarely touched basketball again, but began to try something new.
He shot advertisements for manufacturers as early as 1985Filmed an advertisement for a mattress company。The advertising of Chinese athletes also started from Mu Tiezhu.
He has also cooperated with movie stars such as Chen Peisi, Song Dandan, and Pan Hong. In addition to being an actor, Mu Tiezhu is also the first person in China's sports industry to shoot commercials, creating a precedent for athletes to shoot commercials.
He was also smashed by Feng Gong many times in cross talk. For example, in 1998, in the cross talk program "Sit and Enjoy" of the Spring Festival Gala, Feng Gong smashed him, "Mu Tiezhu's son was born older than me!" Another time, Feng Gong said in "Star Banquet", "The apes on both sides of the strait sound Mu Tiezhu, and the light boat has passed Zhao Benshan".
Yes, the stalks in the show were all well-known back then, and no one didn't know Mu Tiezhu at that time.
Mu Tiezhu and his wife had a son and a daughter, but none of the children inherited his height, daughter 172 meters, son 180 meters. However, their family life is uneventful and very happy.
Mu Tiezhu, who was born in poverty, did a lot of good deeds after retiring.
He began using his influence to raise money for retired and disabled athletes. No less than 100 such activities were carried out across the country, and although it was difficult for him to act on his own in the later period, he still insisted on participating in the whole process.
He hopes that more people from all walks of life will pay attention to these athletes: they shed their blood on the field when they were young, and after retirement, their brilliance is gone, they face all kinds of difficulties, and they need the care of the society.
Compared to them, Mu Tiezhu feels lucky, and as an athlete, he can empathize with their situation.
On September 14, 2008, Chinese basketball fans will never forget that Mu Tiezhu, a generation of giants, died of a heart attack at Beijing 309 Hospital at the age of 59. In the end, he still didn't survive the sixtieth birthday. At that time, the entire sports world was deeply saddened, and many Chinese basketball stars at that time went to mourn and bid him farewell, including Wang Zhizhi, Zheng Haixia and others.
Mu Tiezhu's tombstone was erected for him by his family, just a few lines, but it sums up his wonderful life - there is a sculpture of him holding a basketball with his fingertips. There is a stone tablet in front of the sculpture, and the epitaph on it is as follows: Iron pillars and pillars, center race peaks, basketball country prestige, August 1st army flag red, virtue from afar, relatives are moved, people go to the spirit, basketball is more heroic.
The rolling Yangtze River is passing away, the waves are sweeping away the heroes, and the success or failure of right and wrong is empty; The green mountains are still there, and the sunset is red several times! Life is like a white horse!