1. Clarence McKay "Ace" Parker was an American football and baseball player and coach.
33 Facts About Ace Parker
1. 2.
Ace Parker played professional football as a quarterback, tailback and safety in the National Football League for the Brooklyn Dodgers and the Boston Yanks and in the All-America Football Conference for the New York Yankees.
3.
Ace Parker was an All-American selection at Duke University in 1936.
4.
Ace Parker served as the head baseball coach at Duke from 1953 to 1966.
5.
Ace Parker was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a player in 1955 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1972.
6.
Ace Parker was the son of Ernest and Mabel Ace Parker and grew up in Portsmouth, Virginia.
7.
Ace Parker attended Woodrow Wilson High School in Portsmouth, Virginia, graduating with the class of 1933 and starring in five sports.
8.
Ace Parker enrolled at Duke University as a freshman in 1933, where he was a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity.
9.
At Duke, Ace Parker competed in three sports: football, basketball and baseball.
10.
Ace Parker was second-team All-American in 1935 and consensus All-American first-team in 1936.
11.
Ace Parker placed sixth in the Heisman Trophy voting in 1936.
12.
Ace Parker was a great open-field runner and one of the best punters in college football at the time.
13.
Ace Parker was elected into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1955.
14.
Ace Parker 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.
15.
Ace Parker was drafted by the Brooklyn Dodgers as the third pick of the second round in the 1937 NFL draft.
16.
Ace Parker, who played for the Philadelphia Athletics of Major League Baseball beginning in 1937, originally had no intention of playing in the NFL.
17.
Ace Parker thus became a true two-sport phenomenon, playing both Major League Baseball and NFL football in both 1937 and 1938.
18.
Ace Parker was the first American League player of only a handful of Major League Baseball players to hit a home run as a pinch-hitter in their first at bat.
19.
Ace Parker led the team in passing in 1937 and every year he played.
20.
When legendary coach Jock Sutherland joined the Dodgers in 1940, Ace Parker's career took off.
21.
That year, Ace Parker was twelfth in the league in receiving touchdowns, second in the league in touchdown passes, and led the league in extra points and defensive interceptions.
22.
In 1941, Ace Parker continued to shine, but the Dodgers again finished second to the New York Giants, despite beating their New York rivals twice during the season.
23.
Ace Parker rejoined the former owner of the Dodgers, Dan Topping, in 1946 as part of the New York Yankees of the new All-America Football Conference.
24.
Ace Parker was 8 of 18 passing, for only 81 yards and an interception.
25.
Ace Parker retired after the game, completing a fine career at age 34.
26.
Ace Parker was Piedmont League manager of the year in 1949 and 1951.
27.
Ace Parker was a founding member of the Elizabeth Manor Golf and Country Club in Portsmouth, Virginia.
28.
Ace Parker died the morning of November 6,2013 at the age of 101.
29.
Ace Parker is the first member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame to have lived past their 100th birthday.
30.
Ace Parker is the only member of the Hall to have played exclusively with franchises that no longer exist.
31.
Ace Parker was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame in 1972.
32.
At the time of his death, Ace 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.
33.
On May 7,1937, Ace Parker appeared for the Philadelphia Athletics while Hornsby played one of his last games for the St Louis Browns.