View source for Bashir Levingston

{{Short description|American gridiron football player (born 1976)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2024}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
| name          = Bashir Levingston
| image         =
| image_size    = 
| alt           = 
| caption       = 
| number        = 24
| position      = [[Cornerback]] / [[Kick returner]]
| birth_date    = {{Birth date and age|1976|10|2}}
| birth_place   = [[Inglewood, California]], U.S.
| death_date    = 
| death_place   = 
| height_ft     = 5
| height_in     = 9
| weight_lbs    = 180
| high_school   = [[Seaside High School (California)|Seaside (CA)]]
| college       = [[Eastern Washington Eagles football|Eastern Washington]]
| undraftedyear = 1999
| pastteams     =
* [[New York Giants]] (1999–2000)
* →[[Amsterdam Admirals]] ({{AMS season|2000}})
* [[Toronto Argonauts]] ({{CFL Year|2002}})
* [[Miami Dolphins]] ({{NFL Year|2003}})*<ref>{{cite web |title=Bashir Levingston |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/L/LeviBa20.htm |website=Pro Football Reference |access-date=17 October 2024}}</ref>
* [[Toronto Argonauts]] ({{CFL Year|2003}}–{{CFL Year|2007}})
* [[Montreal Alouettes]] ({{CFL Year|2007}})
| highlights    =
* [[Grey Cup]] champion ([[92nd Grey Cup|2004]])
* CFL All-Star ({{CFL Year|2003}}, {{CFL Year|2004}})
* [[John Agro Special Teams Award|CFL Special Teams Award]] ({{CFL Year|2003}})
| pfr           =  
}}

'''Bashir A. Levingston''' ({{IPAc-en|b|ə|ˈ|ʃ|ɑr}} {{respell|bə|SHAR|'}}; born October 2, 1976) is an American former professional [[gridiron football|football]] [[cornerback]] and [[kick returner]] who played in the [[National Football League]] (NFL) and [[Canadian Football League]] (CFL).

==College career==
After transferring from [[Monterey Peninsula College]], Levingston played [[college football]] at [[Eastern Washington University]], where, as a senior, he earned seven [[All-America]]n honors as a [[kickoff returner|return specialist]].  He was also named first-team All-[[Big Sky Conference]] as a kick returner.  He scored 12 [[touchdowns]] and totaled 1,597 all-purpose yards during his senior year at Eastern Washington.

Livingston also is the leader for [[Division I-AA]] and is fifth on the all-time [[NCAA]] list in [[Punt returner|punt returns]] averaging 20.8 yards.  He broke or tied seven I-AA records including kickoff returns for a touchdown in a game (three) and season (three), kickoff return yards in a game (326), average kickoff returns in a game (65.2), yards in kickoffs and punt returns in game (349) and touchdowns on kickoffs and punt returns in a single game (three) and season (six).

==Professional career==

===NFL and NFL Europa ===
Levingston was originally signed by the [[New York Giants]] in [[1999 NFL season|1999]] and spent two years on the team.  Eventually, he was released from the team and allocated to [[NFL Europa]] with the [[Amsterdam Admirals]] in 2000, where he earned All-NFL Europa honors for his contributions on [[special teams]].

===CFL===
After being cut by the [[Edmonton Eskimos]] during their [[2001 CFL season|2001]] training camp, Levingston caught on with the [[Toronto Argonauts]].  Since being signed in [[2002 CFL season|2002]], Levingston has developed into one of the CFL's best kick returners, earning CFL Special Teams Player of the Week honors ten times in his career to go along with earning [[Canadian Football League East Division|East Division]] All-Star honors in [[2003 CFL season#2003 Eastern All-Stars|2003]] and [[2004 CFL season#2004 Eastern All-Stars|2004]].  Levingston was named the [[John Agro Special Teams Award|CFL's Outstanding Special Teams Player]] and the [[2003 CFL season#2003 Eastern All-Stars|East Division Special Teams Player of the Year]] in [[2003 CFL season|2003]] as well.  In [[2004 CFL season|2004]], Levingston also won a [[92nd Grey Cup|Grey Cup championship]] with the Toronto Argonauts.

On June 28, 2007, in a game against the [[BC Lions]], Levingston broke a CFL record when he returned a missed [[Field goal (football)|field goal]] by [[Paul McCallum (Canadian football)|Paul McCallum]] for a 129-yard touchdown.<ref>{{YouTube|Qouhh-gA08Y}}</ref> That record has since been tied by his then teammate [[Dominique Dorsey]] on August 2, 2007.

On August 30, 2007, Levingston was released by the Argonauts.

On November 4, 2007, Levingston was signed by the [[Montreal Alouettes]].

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080415154853/http://en.montrealalouettes.com/index.php?module=roster&func=display&ros_id=113 Montreal Alouettes profile]
*[https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/L/LeviBa20.htm Pro-football-reference.com profile]

{{92nd Grey Cup}}
{{John Agro Special Teams Award}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Levingston, Bashir}}
[[Category:1976 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American football defensive backs]]
[[Category:Players of Canadian football from California]]
[[Category:Amsterdam Admirals players]]
[[Category:Canadian football defensive backs]]
[[Category:Canadian football return specialists]]
[[Category:Eastern Washington Eagles football players]]
[[Category:Montreal Alouettes players]]
[[Category:New York Giants players]]
[[Category:Players of American football from Inglewood, California]]
[[Category:Toronto Argonauts players]]
[[Category:Players of American football from Monterey County, California]]
[[Category:People from Seaside, California]]
[[Category:Miami Dolphins players]]
[[Category:American football return specialists]]