MLB

Hall of Famer Dave Parker Dies Weeks Before Cooperstown Induction

Elected in December 2024 to the National Baseball Hall of Fame by the Classic Baseball Era Committee, Parker will now be inducted posthumously.
Hall of Famer Dave Parker Dies Weeks Before Cooperstown Induction
Dave Parker, a member of the 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates World Championship team, tips his cap during a pre-game ceremony honoring the team before a baseball game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Philadelphia Phillies in Pittsburgh, on July 20, 2019. Gene J. Puskar/AP Photo
Donald Laible
|Updated:
0:00

Dave Parker not being able to accept his Hall of Fame plaque in person on July 27 in Cooperstown is tragic.

When David Gene Parker, 74, died on Saturday after a lengthy battle with Parkinson’s disease, a generation of baseball fans lost a hero; a symbol of innocence of their youth, beginning in the 1970s. By the end of the 1991 MLB season, his last being split with the Toronto Blue Jays and California Angels, Parker called it quits. Known as “the Cobra” much of his playing career, Parker gave to the game like few had—in 2,466 games over 19 seasons with six clubs.

Donald Laible
Donald Laible
Author
Don has covered pro baseball for several decades, beginning in the minor leagues as a radio broadcaster in the NY Mets organization. His Ice Chips & Diamond Dust blog ran from 2012-2020 at uticaod.com. His baseball passion surrounds anything concerning the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum and writing features on the players and staff of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Don currently resides in southwest Florida.