On the morning of September 14, 2008, Mu Tiezhu, a famous Chinese men's basketball team known as "Asia's No. 1 center", died of a heart attack in Beijing.
After the news came out, it caused an uproar in the Chinese sports world and even the whole society.
In the seventies and eighties of the last century, Mu Tiezhu was a banner of the Chinese men's basketball team, who led the national team to achieve three consecutive Asian championship championships and twice defeated the American men's basketball team who came to visit China.
Just a few days before his death, several old teammates celebrated his last birthday specifically for the 59-year-old.
However, the weather was unpredictable, and just a few days later, Mu Tiezhu suffered a heart attack at the end of a workout and died suddenly.
Mu Tiezhu's departure made all the countrymen deeply regret.
And his last words before his death made people cry...
"Double kill" US men's basketball team
In mid-April 1979, the U.S. men's basketball team visited the mainland for a week.
Since April 7, the U.S. team has traveled to Sichuan, Shanghai, Beijing and other places to play five friendly exchange matches with the Chinese team.
The U.S. team this time is said to represent the U.S. men's basketball team, but it is actually a team composed of basketball stars from various American universities.
But their strength is also not to be underestimated, after all, it is no surprise that they will all go to the highest hall of world basketball - the NBA in the future.
Therefore, this team can be called the reserve team of the US men's basketball team.
Realistically, Team USA is indeed a formidable opponent.
The average height of the 13 players reached 2.01 meters, all of them were strong and physically explosive.
The all-round outstanding physical conditions and skilled basketball skills are difficult for mainland athletes to match, even if it is one of the top Bayi teams in China.
Before the start of the game, even domestic fans and coaches generally believed that the Bayi team, which was about to play the Americans, would suffer a crushing defeat.
Some people say that the Bayi team loses within 30 points even if it wins, and some people say that the Bayi team is likely to not even be able to deliver the ball under the opponent's high-intensity defense.
Even the players of the Bayi team are drumming in their hearts, feeling that it is only a matter of time before they lose the game, and there are players who have the attitude that they can last as long as they can as soon as they play.
All in all, almost no one on and off the court thinks that the Bayi men's basketball team can compete with this menacing American team.
However, when the game started, the situation on the field was shocking.
Small forward Wu Xinshui, with his super explosiveness and speed advantage, tore through the opponent's defender defense again and again, and still insisted on fighting after being injured on the field, and the last man scored 25 points alone.
Guo Yonglin and Kuang Lubin, two guards, frantically "fired" on the outside and scored 37 points for the team with one beautiful arc after another.
Of course, the reason why the Bayi team won this game unexpectedly is inseparable from the basket guarded by Mu Tiezhu, the first center in the history of the Chinese men's basketball team.
Facing the American team with an average height of more than two meters, Mu Tiezhu, who is 2.28 meters, is the only player who does not suffer from height and size.
Therefore, the coach laid out the core tactics for Mu Tiezhu's advantage before the game.
When Mu Tiezhu relied on the strong advantage of his body to crush the opponent's inside, no one in the American team could stop it.
The opponent's explosive power and bounce power advantage were wiped out in front of Mu Tiezhu.
Therefore, the Bayi team's ability to cut the American team in this game is directly related to Mu Tiezhu's outstanding performance.
After the game, the American players admitted to underestimating the Chinese team, but they were very unconvinced by the result of the game, believing that they were just losing carelessly.
So at the request of the Americans, the two teams played another game soon after.
With the experience of losing the first time, Team USA clearly came prepared for the second game.
On the evening of April 12, the match between the two teams began as scheduled.
As the core of the Bayi team, Mu Tiezhu was strictly defended by the opponent in the field, and the players in each position took turns to consume Mu Tiezhu's physical strength.
But even so, they still underestimated Mu Tiezhu.
In addition to being able to shoot, defend and grab rebounds, Mu Tiezhu is also an excellent passer with a big picture vision.
Whenever he fell into the tight defense and multi-person attack of his opponent, Mu Tiezhu always found opportunities to pass the ball to his teammates and repeatedly helped his teammates to complete the score.
The intensity and defensive intensity of this game is obviously much stronger than the first game.
The scores of the two sides were also anxious, and you chased me very tightly.
It was not until the final crucial moment that the Bayi team won the game by three points.
After the battle, the American team left China in frustration, and Mu Tiezhu's name was completely resounding at home and abroad.
For a time, countless foreign fans cast their attention on this "giant center".
So, who is Mu Tiezhu?
How did he grow from a poor kid who couldn't afford to eat to Asia's No. 1 center?
No. 1 center in Asia
Unlike many athletes from sports families, Mu Tiezhu's origin is extremely ordinary.
In 1949, Mu Tiezhu was born in Dongming, Shandong Province, in a well-to-do family.
This was originally a fairly good background, but after liberation, the Mu family was classified as a landlord, and the family's land was confiscated and distributed to the peasants.
The Mu family, who had no land but still had to wear the hat of landlords, lived more and more miserable day by day.
Later, when the Yellow River flooded, the southwest of the mountain was the hardest hit area, and the Mu family was even more miserable.
And Mu Tiezhu is still far taller than ordinary people, growing to 2 meters tall at the age of 16, and the amount of food for one person is the top of the previous family, which makes the life of the Mu family even worse.
Cornered, Mu Tiezhu could only go away to Xinjiang to join his sister.
In 1964, his sister answered the call and joined the Xinjiang Construction Corps.
The border guards produced their own rice, flour, grain and oil, lived self-sufficiently, and had a fixed pocket money every month.
The Xinjiang Corps was worried that it could not recruit people, and the two sides hit it off, and Mu Tiezhu became a staff member in the Corps' transportation squad.
But Mu Tiezhu did not stay in Xinjiang for long, and a return to his hometown in 1968 to visit relatives completely changed his life.
This summer, Mu Tiezhu met a director of the county sports committee on Dongming Street in Shandong.
At that time, the director was busy recruiting people for the physical engineering brigade, and he saw a big man more than 2 meters approaching from a distance, and he immediately raised his heart to solicit.
Mu Tiezhu didn't know what basketball was at that time, but the director promised to play basketball not only with food and housing, but also with salary subsidies, and Mu Tiezhu agreed to join the team on the spot.
However, because the situation was too special at that time, most of the sports industry across the country came to a standstill, and Mu Tiezhu was sent to Yu Bangji, a famous Chinese basketball coach.
Under the tutelage of Yu Bangji, the zero-based Mu Tiezhu quickly grew into the core of the team with absolute height talent and hard training.
The Hubei Huangshi basketball team, the Wuhan Military Region physical engineering team, the Hubei Sports Commission, and the Jinan Military Region basketball team were all rushing to ask for him, and finally this matter once went to the General Political Department of the People's Liberation Army.
Considering that Jinan was close to his hometown, Mu Tiezhu accepted the invitation of the Jinan Military Region and joined the army.
Later, the Bayi team of the People's Liberation Army was reorganized, and Mu Tiezhu naturally joined it, and officially began his career on basketball courts at home and abroad.
In just a few years, Mu Tiezhu and the Bayi men's basketball team played invincible players all over the country and dominated the Chinese basketball arena.
No team can prevent Mu Tiezhu, who is 2.28 meters, and can only watch him send basketballs into the basket one by one on the court.
In the international arena, Mu Tiezhu and the Chinese team have also achieved great results.
At the 8th Asian Games in Bangkok in 1978, Mu Tiezhu made his Asian Games debut as the starting center of the Chinese team.
Under the leadership of Mu Tiezhu, the Chinese men's basketball team was invincible and won the championship trophy all the way.
After that, Mu Tiezhu and the Chinese men's basketball team won two Asian Games championships again, opening the era of domination of the Chinese men's basketball team in Asia.
The reason why Mu Tiezhu has achieved such fruitful results is inseparable from his height and talent, but it is also inseparable from the sweat he has put into training year after year.
When he first joined the basketball team, Mu Tiezhu didn't have the slightest foundation, and no one wanted to go around several teams.
Mu Tiezhu, who knew that he started too late, put in a hundred times and a thousand times more effort than others in training, and only then gradually became an almost "unsolvable" existence on the court.
When it came to the arena, Mu Tiezhu's fighting spirit was not lost to anyone.
At the Asian Games in Bangkok, the South Korean team was unable to stop Mu Tiezhu's attack, so they secretly played some tricks to deal with him, which caused the audience to be extremely dissatisfied.
But Mu Tiezhu on the field was extremely calm-headed, did not engage in any entanglement with the other party, let alone messed with himself, but did not humble and played every ball in his hand, turned over the river in the opponent's penalty area, and finally cut the Korean team under the horse.
Mu Tiezhu's sudden death
In the blink of an eye, in 1987, the 38-year-old Mu Tiezhu still reached the age of retirement after winning one honor after another for the country.
This year, the era of Mu Tiezhu ended, and the legend of Chinese basketball came to an end.
But that doesn't mean he's out of the ring.
After retiring, Mu Tiezhu wanted to return to the Bayi men's basketball team and continue to accompany the team as a coach.
Unfortunately, it didn't take long for him to give up all his work because of the ensuing illness.
Years of basketball career brought Mu Tiezhu not only honors and applause, but also countless injuries.
In his youth, he practiced hard day and night, and overdrew Mu Tiezhu's body early.
Coupled with his height and weight, the pressure on various organs of his body is much higher than that of ordinary people.
After the age of 40, all kinds of sequelae and root causes of diseases have come to the door.
The disc protruding from the waist, varicose veins in the legs, heart disease, and Mu Tiezhu, who lived in the second half of his life, fell into the struggle against the disease.
After years of recuperation, his health has gradually improved.
Mu Tiezhu and his family live in a bungalow at the University of Science and Technology Beijing, a house allocated to him by the state when he got married, surrounded by many old teammates of the Bayi team.
On weekdays, he lives a leisurely life, playing chess and cards with old friends, and occasionally playing on the court.
Originally, everyone thought that Mu Tiezhu would spend the rest of his life in such a calm and stable time, but they did not expect that the disease did not let him go at all.
On September 14, 2008, this day was the Mid-Autumn Festival, and on this day that should have been a family reunion, Mu Tiezhu completed his life.
On that day, Mu Tiezhu may have expected something, so he uncharacteristically did not go out to exercise, and only moved his body at home for a while.
However, when he got off the fitness equipment, he suddenly felt a piercing pain, his heart beat violently, and he instantly fainted to the ground.
The son immediately sent him to the PLA 309 Hospital for rescue, but unfortunately it was still one step late.
According to the hospital staff: "At that time, he was already critically ill, and the director and department experts rushed over, but they still could not be saved, he died of sudden heart attack." ”
After Mu Tiezhu's death, he was buried in the Babaoshan Cemetery.
The photo above the tombstone is particularly special, it is Mu Tiezhu smiling and holding the basketball with his fingertips, vividly interpreting his life dedicated to the basketball career.
At his memorial service, all the Bayi men's basketball players were present, and Chinese basketball celebrities Zheng Haixia, Zhang Weiping, Wang Zhizhi, Ye Peng and others also came to bid farewell to their old teammates.
In addition, more than 10,000 fans spontaneously organized to pay tribute to the former number one center in Asia.
Zhang Weiping said with regret on the spot: "Tiezhu is the first center of our men's basketball team, and he has played a great role in China's basketball dominating Asia. ”
Wang Zhizhi said: "Coach Mu is our role model, carrying so many injuries to the age of 38, he has too much we need to learn, we will take over his class. ”
Mu Tiezhu left forever.
So, did he leave any last words before he died?
Mu Tiezhu's last words
It is reported that because the heart attack came too suddenly, Mu Tiezhu did not have time to leave a special last word.
However, according to his family, Mu Tiezhu's last words to the world were: "Don't let your mother cook today, she's working too hard..."
These were his last words to his children, and his last voice on earth.
This tearful last words fully reflects Mu Tiezhu's responsibility to the family as a husband and father.
This is indeed the case, whether inside or outside the field, Mu Tiezhu's personality charm is infecting the people around him.
The story of him and his wife Wang Zhuanhong can be said to be a typical case of fans chasing stars.
After Mu Tiezhu led the team to "double kill" the American team, it quickly became popular throughout Asia.
Whenever he walked on the field, the audience did not know how many female fans fell for it, and Wang Zhuanhong was one of them.
Every game of Mu Tiezhu, Wang Zhuanhong will not miss it, and sometimes he will go to the scene to cheer for the idol.
Later, Wang Zhuanhong finally couldn't hold back his inner admiration and wrote a confession letter to the other party.
At that time, it was common for fans to write letters to idols, and Mu Tiezhu often received hundreds of letters at a time.
Sometimes he would pick a few replies, and Wang Zhuanhong's letter happened to be seen by Mu Tiezhu.
At that time, Mu Tiezhu was already 30 years old, and everyone around him was anxious about his marriage.
The leader of the Bayi team learned that someone had written a confession letter to him, and immediately followed the vine to check it, and found that Wang Zhuanhong was in Beijing, and he could sing and dance well, and the leader immediately began to match the two.
Soon, Mu Tiezhu and Wang Zhuanhong met at the home of a coach, and a red thread was connected between the two that could never be cut again.
Wang Zhuanhong has beautiful eyebrows and is also very tall, and Mu Tiezhu has a good impression of her at a glance.
The two who had a concubine and an interest quickly became a couple and developed to the point of talking about marriage.
In order to win the consent of his mother-in-law, Mu Tiezhu began to visit the old man's house frequently.
At first, the mother-in-law was still worried that the other party was a basketball star, and her daughter would be angry after getting married, but after getting along a few times, she could feel that Mu Tiezhu was an honest and kind-hearted person, so she handed over her daughter to him with confidence.
Mu Tiezhu on the basketball court is an invincible "Big Mac", but he treats his wife particularly gently.
Married for more than thirty years, the couple has hardly quarreled, even if the two have a conflict, Mu Tiezhu will take the initiative to put down his body to coax his wife, and there is no machismo at all.
During the athlete period, Mu Tiezhu often had to go out to play competitions, and he and Wang Zhuanhong gathered less and separated more.
But as long as he is at home, he will definitely be by his wife's side as much as possible.
On their wedding anniversary, his wife's birthday, and Valentine's Day, Mu Tiezhu never forgot to prepare gifts for Wang Zhuanhong.
The two stayed hand in hand like this, living an ordinary and sweet life.
Mu Tiezhu's sons and daughters also developed well under his teaching and influence.
Different from his father's giant-like height, son Mu Tong is 1.8 meters tall, daughter Mu Rong is 1.73 meters, both of them are ordinary people's body shapes.
His father's talent and interest in basketball were not inherited from Mu Tong Murong, and they lacked interest in the sport.
Mu Tiezhu fully respected the wishes of his children and did not force their sons to inherit their father's business.
Mu Tong graduated from Beijing Union University, Mu Tiezhu originally wanted to send his son to continue his studies abroad, but Mu Tong was more inclined to work in society, and Mu Tiezhu did not interfere more.
So Mu Tong entered a start-up company and soon became the middle leader of the company.
Mu Rong is also very free about her life choices, she entered the bank unit to work, stable work and happy family.
Although neither of them followed their father's footsteps, this did not prevent Mu Tiezhu from becoming the idol of the siblings.
My father's fighting spirit on the field has always been the driving force behind them.
When they encounter any problems in life, they will always ask their father for advice.
In short, this is a happy family with a very harmonious and happy family atmosphere.
epilogue
Before Yao Ming was born, Mu Tiezhu was a well-deserved No. 1 center in Chinese basketball, and even the top center player in the world, which can be seen from the fact that he led the Bayi team to defeat the United States twice.
In 2022, the Chinese basketball community launched the Hall of Fame program to recognize players who have made outstanding contributions to Chinese basketball.
Unsurprisingly, Mu Tiezhu became one of the first players to be inducted into the Chinese Basketball Hall of Fame.
This also confirms from the side that Mu Tiezhu's outstanding contribution to Chinese basketball and his unparalleled dominance on the court.