Ali S. Haji-Sheikh (born January 11, 1961) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

kicker Kicker or The Kicker may refer to: Sports * Placekicker, a position in American and Canadian football * ''Kicker'' (magazine), sports magazine in Germany * Kicker, the German colloquial term for an association football player * Kicker, the wor ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Michigan Wolverines The Michigan Wolverines comprise 29 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan. These teams compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except wo ...

. He was selected in the ninth round (237th overall) of the

1983 NFL draft The 1983 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 26–27, 1983, at the New York Sh ...

by the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

. He also played for the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

and

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

. While at Michigan, Haji-Sheikh set a

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives in 1 ...

record with 78 consecutive

extra points The conversion, try (American football), also known as a point(s) after touchdown, PAT, extra point, two-point conversion, or convert (Canadian football) is a gridiron football play that occurs immediately after a touchdown. The scoring team att ...

, and he broke the NFL record for the most

field goal A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. Consequently, ...

s in a season, as a

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience, a rookie is typically considered needing more tra ...

during the

1983 NFL season The 1983 NFL season was the 64th regular season of the National Football League. The Colts played their final season in Baltimore before the team's relocation to Indianapolis the following season. The season ended with Super Bowl XVIII wh ...

Early life

Haji-Sheikh was born in

Ann Arbor, Michigan Ann Arbor is a city in Washtenaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851, making it the List of municipalities in Michigan, fifth-most populous cit ...

, and raised in Texas. He is the son of Abdolhossein Haji-Sheikh, a professor of

Mechanical Mechanical may refer to: Machine * Machine (mechanical), a system of mechanisms that shape the actuator input to achieve a specific application of output forces and movement * Mechanical calculator, a device used to perform the basic operations o ...

and

Aerospace Engineering Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is s ...

at the

University of Texas at Arlington The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA or UT Arlington) is a public research university in Arlington, Texas, United States. It is the second oldest university in the University of Texas System and was founded in 1895. It was in the Texas A& ...

who is originally from

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

. His father coached him in

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

and football. Haji-Sheikh attended Arlington High School where he also played

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

and

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

College career

Haji-Sheikh attended the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

from 1979 to 1982 as a placekicker for the Wolverines, and in 1986 earned a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

geology Geology (). is a branch of natural science concerned with the Earth and other astronomical objects, the rocks of which they are composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Earth ...

. While attending Michigan, he set a

record by successfully converting 76 consecutive extra points. He also set the school records for career extra points (117) and field goals (31).

Career statistics

Professional career

Haji-Sheikh was selected by the

in the ninth round (237th overall pick) of the

. He spent three seasons playing for the Giants. As a

in 1983 he was successful in 35-of-42

attempts (83%). His 35 field goals in

1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...

broke Jim Turner's NFL record for field goals in a season. Haji-Sheikh's record stood until

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

. A recurring

hamstring A hamstring () is any one of the three posterior thigh muscles in human anatomy between the hip and the knee: from medial to lateral, the semimembranosus, semitendinosus and biceps femoris. Etymology The word " ham" is derived from the Old ...

injury hampered the rest of his career. In

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...

, Haji-Sheikh joined the

after three seasons with the Giants. He appeared in six games for the Falcons, was successful on 9-of-12 field goal attempts, and converted 7-of-8 extra points. Haji-Sheikh was released by the Falcons in late August 1987. In mid-September 1987, he signed with the

after an injury to the Redskins' regular placekicker

Jess Atkinson Jess Gerald Atkinson (born December 11, 1961) is a former American football placekicker in the National Football League (NFL) for the St. Louis Cardinals, New York Giants, Washington Redskins, and the Indianapolis Colts. He played college footba ...

. He appeared in 11 games for the Redskins during the 1987 season, was successful on 13-of-19 field goal attempts, and converted 29-of-32 extra points. He won his only career

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual History of the NFL championship, league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966 NFL season, 1966 (with the excep ...

that season, kicking six extra points and missing one field goal in

Super Bowl XXII Super Bowl XXII was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Washington Redskins and American Football Conference (AFC) champion Denver Broncos to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for th ...

. He appeared in the

1984 Pro Bowl The 1984 Pro Bowl was the 34th Pro Bowl, the annual all-star game of the National Football League (NFL), and featured the outstanding performers from the 1983 season. The game was contested by teams representing the National Football Conference ...

kicking one field goal and adding six extra points. He finished his career with 76-of-111 field goals (68%) and 95-of-103 extra points, scoring 323 total points.

NFL career statistics

Personal life and later years

In 1984, Haji-Sheikh married Detroit native and fellow University of Michigan graduate Michele Blondin. As of 2016, the couple has five children. He now works in the luxury car business in

Birmingham, Michigan Birmingham is a city in Oakland County, Michigan, Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is a northern suburb of Detroit located along the Woodward Corridor (M-1 (Michigan highway), M-1). As of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 censu ...

, coaches travel soccer with Magic Soccer and trains upcoming kickers via his business Haji-Sheikh Kicking.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Haji-Sheikh, Ali 1961 births Living people American football placekickers Atlanta Falcons players Michigan Wolverines football players New York Giants players Washington Redskins players National Conference Pro Bowl players Players of American football from Ann Arbor, Michigan Players of American football from Arlington, Texas American people of Iranian descent Sportspeople of Iranian descent