Hometown: Portsmouth
Rank: 1 (ahead of Bruce Smith)
Born: 1912
Claim to fame: Pro Football Hall of Fame, College Football Hall of Fame, 1940 NFL MVP, major league baseball player
If Parker didn't exist, some fiction writer would have invented him, probably as the square-jawed protagonist in a series of sports-based kids' books. Parker had all the ingredients: humble upbringing, the chance meeting that launched his athletic career, the All-American nickname. A dropout from Churchland High during the Depression, Parker was discovered playing golf at a public course. Money materialized to pay his tuition at Wilson High, where he was a five-sport wonder. He played three sports at Duke, then signed with Connie Mack's Philadelphia Athletics. He hit a home run in his first major league at-bat, but otherwise struggled at the plate and found his true calling in football with the old Brooklyn Dodgers. A single-wing quarterback in pro football's leather-helmet days, he once played 656 minutes of a 660-minute season. After breaking his ankle playing baseball, Parker donned a 10-pound brace during the 1940 football season and beat out Sammy Baugh for league MVP. He ran, passed, punted, kicked and played safety. His career was interrupted by World War II, stealing prime years. Yet, he was elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1972 and today is its oldest living member.
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