Jamshid Abol Hassen Bakhtiar (January 8, 1934 – January 9, 2022) was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

player. Bakhtiar was born in

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

, on January 8, 1934, and emigrated to the United States as a boy. He attended the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective ad ...

where he played college football at the fullback and placekicker positions for the

Virginia Cavaliers football The Virginia Cavaliers football team represents the University of Virginia in the sport of American football. Established in 1888, Virginia plays its home games at Scott Stadium, capacity 61,500, featured directly on its campus near the Academi ...

team from 1955 to 1957. In September 1956, he set an Atlantic Coast Conference single-game record with 210

rushing yards Rushing means a sudden forward motion, or a surge or onslaught. Rushing may refer to: Tactics * Rush (gridiron football), advancing the ball by running on offense. On defense, charging the quarterback or kicker is a pass rush. * Human wave att ...

against VMI. He was selected by the Football Writers Association of America as a first-team back on its

1957 College Football All-America Team The 1957 College Football All-America team is composed of college football players who were selected as All-Americans by various organizations and writers that chose College Football All-America Teams in 1957. The seven selectors recognized by the ...

. He later played in the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

with the

Calgary Stampeders The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium and are the third-o ...

in 1958 before enrolling in medical school at the University of Virginia. He graduated with a medical degree with an emphasis in psychiatry in 1963. He returned to Iran where he established the country's first modern psychiatric unit. Following the

Iranian Revolution The Iranian Revolution ( fa, انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân, ), also known as the Islamic Revolution ( fa, انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dyna ...

, he fled to Turkey with his family and returned to the United States. Bakhtiar's sister was Laleh, a scholar, author, translator, and clinical psychologist. His nieces are

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

producer, journalist, and author

Davar Ardalan Iran Davar Ardalan (born April 1, 1964) is a tech entrepreneur, journalist, and author based in Washington, D.C. Known as Davar Ardalan, she is the Executive Producer of Audio at National Geographic and has served as co-chair of the Cultural Her ...

and novelist Lailee Bakhtiar McNair; his nephew is former tennis player

Fred McNair Frederick V. McNair IV (born July 22, 1950) is an American former professional tennis player who reached the world No. 1 doubles ranking in 1976. That year, he teamed up with Sherwood Stewart to capture the men's doubles titles at French Open, ...

. He died on January 9, 2022, one day after his 88th birthday.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bakhtiar, Jim 1934 births 2022 deaths American football fullbacks American psychiatrists Calgary Stampeders players Virginia Cavaliers football players Iranian players of American football Sportspeople from Tehran Iranian emigrants to the United States Sportspeople of Iranian descent