Shar Pourdanesh

Shahriar Pourdanesh (born July 19, 1970) is a former American football offensive lineman who played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Washington Redskins, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Oakland Raiders from 1996 to 2001 when in 2001 a severe knee injury cut his career short.

He is distinguished as being the first Iranian to play in the National Football League (NFL).

Early life Pourdanesh was born on July 19, 1970 in Tehran, but left at age 9 for Germany, while trying to gain entry to the United States. They gained this permission in 1983.

Pourdanesh is a graduate of University High School in Irvine, California.

An All-American and All Conference selection, and two time team captain for the University of Nevada at Reno, where in 1992 he was awarded Nevada's Most Outstanding Offensive Player award. He is the only Iranian-born football player in NFL history and has over 80 professional starts in his career.

Personal life

Shar and his family escaped the Iranian Revolution in 1979 and fled to Europe. The Pourdanesh family settled in Irvine, California in 1983 after spending 3 years in West Germany.