Hashim Khan, Patriarch of a squash dynasty, has passed away

All

It was July of last year when my wife and I cycled around Lake Tahoe.  A few weeks later, I was diagnosed with leukemia. 

Well, just last week, I went back to Tahoe to cycle once again. 

I cycled 25 miles - not quite the 72 miles that it takes to cycle around the lake - but nevertheless it's a start.  My goal is to cycle around the lake once again by next year.

See you on the courts after Labor Day!

John

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Hashim Khan, who learned to play squash when he was a boy, retrieving stray balls for British military officers in Pakistan, and went on to become a champion and the patriarch of a family dynasty in the sport, died on Monday in Denver. He was believed to be 100. Read more and check out the video below along with a highly entertaining read - written in a conversational style as if one was in the same room with the legend himself

John

Denver Athletic Club has fond memories of longtime squash star Hashim Khan

Irv Moss, Denver Post

August 29, 2014

The turnout last week at the Denver Athletic Club was a reminder of the greatness of Hashim Khan.

The throng was gathered in the area of the squash courts, but the people weren’t there to see Khan play the game he had mastered. They were there to honor his memory. Khan died of heart failure the week before. His exact age wasn’t known, but by best estimates he was about 100 years old when he died.

“He was kind of the best squash player ever,” said John Lesko, the head squash pro at the DAC.

The crowd of 200 or so verified Khan’s standing in the squash world. Most visited Khan’s trophy room next to the playing courts.

Khan had been affiliated with the DAC almost the entire time since he moved to Denver in 1973. By then, Khan had established himself as the premier squash player in the world, with seven British Open titles to his credit.

Although he continued to play up to about three years ago, Khan built a legacy of being a teacher and evangelist for the game.

“He was a wizard of the game,” said Mo Khan, Hashim Khan’s youngest son. “I believe at this time there are at least 50 people who are related to our family playing the game around the world.”

Mo Khan and all six of his brothers have been active players.

“What made him great was his age and how he learned to play the game,” Mo Khan said.

Hashim Khan learned to play squash while growing up in Pakistan. He was a ball boy at first but blossomed into a world-class player. He was 36 when he won his first British Open title.

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