Mou Zuoyun

Mou Zuoyun was called the “godfather of Chinese basketball” as a player, coach, and pioneer. While attending middle school in Beijing he excelled as a basketball player and in athletics. Mou was selected as a member of the Chinese team for the 1934 Far Eastern Games in Manila, where the team placed second. In 1935 he enrolled in the Department of Physical Education of the Beijing Normal University. Mou was again a member of the Chinese team at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Following his graduation in 1937, he became a member of the staff of the Beijing University. During the Japanese occupation in the Sino-Japanese War staff members established a temporary university in Kunming, Yunnan, the Southwestern Associated University. There, Mou Zuoyun was employed as basketball coach by Chinese physical education pioneer Ma Yuehan. Ma’s daughter married Mou in 1944.

In 1946 he went to the United States for two years to continue his studies at Springfield College. When Mou Zuoyun was nominated as coach of the Chinese basketball team for the 1948 London Olympics, he returned to his homeland. Eventually, the appointment didn’t materialize, however. After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, Mou was called again and coached the team at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics. Due to the political conflict about the legal representation of China, the team was not allowed to compete. From 1956 he served as vice president and from 1973 as president of the Chinese Basketball Association fostering the development of basketball in China. Later, he was named Honorary President of the Asian Basketball Association and Lifetime Honorary Committee Member of FIBA. Mou was elected as one of the 50 most important contributors to basketball in China and the first Chinese person to be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. The Chinese Basketball Association named the trophy for China’s Pro Basketball Champion the Mou Zuoyun Cup.