Throwback Thursday: Ace Parker

I was saddened to hear that Clarence "Ace" Parker passed away earlier yesterday. He was 101 and had been hospitalized since late October with pulmonary issues.

Ace Parker seemed to excel at every sport that he chose to try. He was arguably the greatest all-around athlete to come from Hampton Roads, Virginia. There was, of course, football. He played major league baseball. He hit a home run in his first at bat. He played basketball. He was the Virginia state high jump champ. In 1932, he beat golfing great Sam Snead in a long-driving contest at the Virginia high school tournament, averaging 303 1/2 yards on three shots. He was the #2 player on a state champion golf squad that featured future PGA Champion and lifelong friend Chandler Harper.

In a 1982 interview, Harper said of Parker: "In my lifetime, I've met a lot of giants in their endeavor-Henry Ford, Bing Crosby, Ty Cobb, Eddie Arcaro, Rocky Marciano, Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Joe DiMaggio-but the first giant I met was Ace Parker."

After an All-American college career as a single-wing tailback at Duke, Parker was drafted by the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1937. He did pretty much everything on the football field, offense, defense, special teams. In 1938, he played 656 minutes of a possible 660 during the 11-game season. In his pro football career, Parker led the league in passing, he led the league in interceptions, he led the league in made extra points, he punted, he returned kicks. He did all of those so well that in 1940 he was voted the NFL's Most Valuable Player.

During his first two years with the Dodgers, Parker played shortstop for Connie Mack's Philadelphia Athletics. Although his baseball career got off to a fantastic start with that home run, he was not the star in baseball that he was in football. His career batting average was under .200. Jumping from one sport to the other was probably a factor.

"I always thought that I was a better baseball player than I was a football player," Parker said in a 1985 interview. "But football seemed to work out better for me."

After the 1941 season Parker left the NFL to serve in the Navy in World War II. He returned to the NFL in 1945 with the Boston Yanks. He played one last season of professional football with the New York Yankees of the All-America Football Conference.

On October 22, 1939, Parker starred in the first professional football game ever televised, a 23-14 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles at Ebbets Field. He threw a 47-yard touchdown in the game.

Ace Parker is one of the all-time football greats. His 1972 induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame is proof of that. Even with three of his best years taken by service in World War II. That was true of many professional football players of that time. His legacy may be best described by his versatility. He did everything and he did everything great. Parker was also inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame and Virginia and North Carolina sports Halls of Fame.

RIP Ace Parker.