Hamzeh Pahlevan Pur

Hamzeh Ali Pahlevanpour, also known as Pahlevan Hamzeh Pahlevanpour, was a national athletics champion and the owner and manager of the Pahlevanpour Cultural Sports Club during the Pahlavi era in Iran.

Biography Pahlevanpour was one of Tehran's most renowned traditional athletes (Pahlevans) during the late Qajar and early Pahlavi eras. He obtained the traditional championship armband during the reign of Reza Shah. In 1925, he purchased the Zurkhaneh of Morshed Hossein Siah (which had been sold to a merchant named Asghar Bazarchi), renamed it after himself, and managed it as a cultural-sports club. Known popularly as "Pahlevan Shater Hamzeh", he held the title of Tehran’s and Iran’s strongest man during this era and met with both Reza Shah and Mohammad Reza Shah to discuss promoting traditional Persian sports.

He also owned several bakeries and shops near his Zurkhaneh, as well as the historic Saqa khaneh of "Kal Abbas Ali". Known for his charitable acts, he donated much of his income to support athletes and the needy. Because of such acts, he and a group of other generous champions earned the nickname "the open-door men". Notably, when his Zurkhaneh was damaged in a fire, he sold his house and several shops to finance its restoration.

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