A letter from Mou Zuoyun to Dr. Edward Steitz (January 20, 1979)

Item Information

Title:
A letter from Mou Zuoyun to Dr. Edward Steitz (January 20, 1979)
Description:
This is a copy of a letter sent from Mou Zuoyun (牟作云), Springfield College grad of 1947 and, at the time, head of the All-China Federation and the Chinese National Basketball teams, dated January 20, 1979. In the letter he talks a bit about his father-in-law, John Ma (Ma Yuehan) and apologizes for not being about to arrange a visit to China for the Springfield College Men's Basketball team for this year. Mou Zouyun (牟作云) was born in 1913 in Wuqing district, Tianjin. In 1934, while he was still in high school, Mou was selected to Chinese National Basketball team for the 10st Far East Asian Olympic Games. Mou had a nickname “Mo Zhe Yun”, which means, “touch the clouds”. Mou also participated in track and field in Far East Asian Games in 1934. Later in 1934, He was admitted to Beiping Normal University under Shouyi Dong and became one of the “Five Tigers”. The “Five Tigers” won the National Championships in China, and the players, including Mou, became members of the Chinese National Basketball Team in 1936 Berlin Olympic games. Mou married John Ma’s second daughter, Ma Peilun, in April 1944. He then came to Springfield College for a two-year graduate program along with Ma Qiwei, John Ma’s son, in June 1946. While here, he was known as James (Jimmy) T. Y. Mao. Mr. Mou received a Bachelor degree from Springfield College in 1947. Mr. Mou expected to continue his graduate program, when he was appointed as the basketball coach of Chinese Olympic team for the 1948 Olympic, so he had to cut off his graduate study and return to China to take up his role in June 1947. Mou is regarded as a pioneer of professional basketball of the People’s Republic of China. In recognition for his achievement, Mou was conferred the title of Lifetime Honorary President of the Asian Basketball Association and was made appointed a lifetime Honorary Committee position on FIBA. The championship title of the Chinese Basketball Association League was named as “Mou Zuoyun Cup” in 2005. And he was praised by Yao Ming in his induction speech to the Basketball Hall of Fame ceremony in 2016. Mou passed away in 2007. For biographical information on Edward S. Steitz, see: https://springfield.as.atlas-sys.com/agents/people/110.
Creator:
Mou, Zouyun
Date:
January 20, 1979
Format:
Documents
Location:
Springfield College Archives and Special Collections
Collection (local):
College Archives Digital Collections
Subjects:
Springfield College
Springfield College--Basketball
Springfield College--Basketball--Men
Springfield College--International
Springfield College--Alumni and alumnae
Steitz, Edward S.
Mou, Zuoyun
Basketball
Places:
Massachusetts > Hampden (county) > Springfield
Link to Item:
http://cdm16122.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15370coll2/id/20398
Terms of Use:
Text and images are owned, held, or licensed by Springfield College and are available for personal, non-commercial, and educational use, provided that ownership is properly cited. A credit line is required and should read: Courtesy of Springfield College, Archives and Special Collections. Any commercial use without written permission from Springfield College is strictly prohibited. Other individuals or entities other than, and in addition to, Springfield College may also own copyrights and other propriety rights. The publishing, exhibiting, or broadcasting party assumes all responsibility for clearing reproduction rights and for any infringement of United States copyright law.
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Publisher:
Springfield College
Language:
English
Identifier:
rg105-06-a-01-01-001
rg105-01-f-06-folder-002