Jim Bakhtiar

Jamshid Abol Hassen Bakhtiar (January 8, 1934 – January 9, 2022) was an American football player.

James Jim Bakhtiar

Virginia Cavaliers – No. 34
Position	Fullback, Placekicker
Class	Graduate
Personal information
Born:	(1934-01-08)January 8, 1934 Tehran, Iran
Died:	January 9, 2022(2022-01-09) (aged 88) Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S.
Career history
College	Virginia (1955–1957)
Career highlights and awards
First-team All-American (1957) Virginia Cavaliers Jersey No. 34 retired

Bakhtiar was born in Tehran, Iran, on January 8, 1934, and emigrated to the United States as a boy.^[1][2] He attended the University of Virginia where he played college football at the fullback and placekicker positions for the Virginia Cavaliers football team from 1955 to 1957. In September 1956, he set an Atlantic Coast Conference single-game record with 210 rushing yards against VMI.^[3] He was selected by the Football Writers Association of America as a first-team back on its 1957 College Football All-America Team.^[4] He later played in the Canadian Football League with the Calgary Stampeders 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.^[5] Following the Iranian Revolution, he fled to Turkey with his family and returned to the United States.^[6]

Bakhtiar's sister was Laleh, a scholar, author, translator, and clinical psychologist. His nieces are NPR producer, journalist, and author Davar Ardalan and novelist Lailee Bakhtiar McNair; his nephew is former tennis player Fred McNair.^[7][8]

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

References

1. "Beyond All-American: A half-century after his playing days, Bakhtiar honored again". University of Virginia Magazine.
2. Melinda Waldrop (September 14, 2007). "Long Run Of 'Good Fortune'". Daily Press.
3. "Bakhtiar Runs Wild in 18-0 Virginia Win". Star-News, Wilmington, N.C. September 23, 1956. p. 2C.
4. Ted Gangi (ed.). (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2019. Retrieved February 8, 2015.
5. "On the outside, looking in at a country in turmoil". The National. August 18, 2009. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
6. "ESPN All-America Team 2006 - FWAA Alumni Award winner Jamshid "Jim" Bakhtiar, MD". YouTube. November 28, 2009. Retrieved July 25, 2016.
7. Theodoulou, Michael (June 6, 2008). "US-Iran disputes cannot move Helen's mountain". The National. p. 15.
8. Ardalan, Iran Davar (2010). My Name Is Iran: A Memoir. Henry Holt and Company. pp. 58, 235, 288. ISBN 9781429923736.
9. "Former UVA All-American Jim Bakhtiar Passes Away". January 12, 2022.