Hall of Famer Ace Parker dies
Parker was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1972. He starred for the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1937-41 and won the NFL's MVP in 1940. After serving in World War II, he returned to the NFL in 1945 with the Boston Yanks and played one more season in 1946 with the New York Yankees of the rival All-America Football Conference.
"Our thoughts go out to Ace's family and friends," said Steve Perry, the Hall of Fame's president and executive director. "On behalf of all of the Hall of Famers, the Board, and staff, we reflect on a full life lived and will forever remember the football legacy created by Ace Parker."
In his MVP season, Parker threw 10 touchdown passes, rushed for 306 yards and two scores, added a pair of TD receptions while accounting for 19 PATs. He also averaged 38 yards per punt and his six interceptions tied him for the league lead.
Parker was the son of Ernest and Mabel Parker and grew up in Portsmouth, Virginia. He attended Woodrow Wilson High School in Portsmouth, Virginia, graduating with the class of 1933 and starring in five sports. He enrolled at Duke University as a freshman in 1933.
t Duke, Parker competed in three sports: football, basketball and baseball. From 1934–1936, he starred at running back, doing most of the running and passing for Duke. He was second team All-American in 1935 and consensus All-American first team in 1936. He placed sixth in the Heisman Trophy voting in 1936. Parker was a great open-field runner and one of the best punters in college football at the time. His 105-yard kickoff return against North Carolina is still a Duke school record. Parker also stood out as a baseball player at Duke, playing in 1935–1936.
In his senior season at Duke, he served as team captain for the Duke Blue Devils who went 9–1, captured the league title with a 7–0 record, and finished the season ranked 11th in the Associated Press national poll.
He was elected into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1955. He was inducted into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame in 1963, the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame in 1972, and was an inaugural member of the Duke University Sports Hall of Fame, inducted in 1975.
Parker was drafted by the Brooklyn Dodgers as the third pick of the second round in the 1937 NFL draft. Sammy Baugh was the only passer drafted ahead of Parker. Parker, who played for the Philadelphia Athletics of Major League Baseball beginning in 1937, originally had no intention of playing in the NFL. Baseball was the glamour pro sport at the time and the NFL had a rough, vulgar reputation. But perhaps because of his .117 batting average that year, he asked for and received permission from the A's to play football. Parker thus became a true two-sport phenomenon, playing both Major League Baseball and NFL football in both 1937 and 1938. Parker, playing various infield positions, batted .179 over two seasons with the A's, scoring 20 runs with 25 RBI over 94 games. Parker was the first American League player (and second player overall, behind National Leaguer Eddie Morgan) of only a handful of Major League Baseball players to hit a home run as a pinch-hitter in their first at bat.
At the time of his death, Parker was the oldest living member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the oldest living former professional football player and the last living person to play on the same major league baseball field as Baseball Hall of Fame member Rogers Hornsby. On May 7, 1937, Parker appeared for the Philadelphia Athletics while Hornsby played one of his last games for the St. Louis Browns. Before his death, Parker and Hall of Famer Bobby Doerr were the last men to play on the same field as baseball immortal Lou Gehrig.
Parker was the first and only member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame to live to 100 years of age. He played against and with some of the legendary greats of early football such as Cliff Battles,Gaynell Tinsley, Dan Topping, Potsy Clark, Perry Schwartz, Grover Ox Emerson, Bruiser Kinard, Beattie Feathers, Jock Sutherland, John Michelosen, Ray Flaherty, Red Strader, Spec Sanders, Bill Hewitt, Don Hutson, Wayne Millner, George Christensen, Frank Cope, Bill Lee, Glen Turk Edwards, Dan Fortman, Joe Stydhar, Russ Lerlaw, Charles Buckets Goldenberg, Mel Hein, George Svendsen, Arnie Herber, Cecil Isbell, John Blood McNally, Alphonse Tuffy Leemans, Jimmy Conzelman, Earl “Curly” Lambeau, Cal Hubbard, Mike Michalske. Ken Strong, Bronko Nagurski, Clarke Hinkle, Sid Luckman, Bill Dudley, Tony Canadeo, Bill Osmanski, Byron Whizzer White, Al Blozis, Bucko Kilroy, Al Wistert, Bill Edwards, Charley Brock, Clyde Bulldog Turner and Len Younce.
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