The dynasty's patriarch was Hashim Khan (1914-2014), whose win at the 1951 British Open began the era of his family's dominance in the sport.
[2] The Khan family's beginnings in the sport of squash can be traced to the British Army's officer's club in Peshawar, where Hashim's father Abdullah worked as the head steward.
When Hashim was 11 his father died in a car crash, and he subsequently left school to work full-time at the officer's club.
[3] Hashim's sons Sharif and Aziz went on to be successful squash players, both working as professionals at clubs in Toronto.
In the late 1950s, Hashim and Azam's nephew, Mohibullah "Mo," also became a dominant force in international squash competitions, competing in his first British Open in 1956 at age 17.
That same year the United States government invited Mo to their country to give a demonstration of the sport at the Pentagon.
The two men got along well, and Kennedy used his influence to get Mo the position of squash pro at the Harvard Club in Boston.