His skill was as supreme as his style and swagger. His exploits on the field were the stuff of legend, like the Minor League home run he hit in West Virginia that landed in a coal car and wound up in Columbus, Ohio, or the time he literally knocked the cover off a baseball. His words were often boastful and always unforgettable.
“When the leaves turn brown, I’ll be wearing the batting crown.”
Few players have ever been as talented or entertaining as Dave Parker, the Hall of Fame outfielder nicknamed “The Cobra,” who spent 19 seasons in the big leagues and ranked among the game’s best at his peak with the Pirates in the late 1970s. Parker passed away on Saturday after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease. He was 74.
"Dave Parker was a gifted all-around player whose numerous accomplishments led to his upcoming induction in Cooperstown this summer," MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement. "He was a World Series Champion with the 1979 Pirates and the 1989 Athletics, a beloved All-Star Red in his hometown of Cincinnati, and an All-Star in Milwaukee. Dave was also a three-time Gold Glover on the strength of his famous arm, a two-time batting champion, and the winner of the inaugural Home Run Derby in 1985.
"All of us throughout the game are deeply saddened by this loss. We will remember the Cobra forever, especially as his name soon officially joins the legends of our National Pastime. On behalf of Major League Baseball, I extend my sympathy to Dave’s family and his fans across the game."
Parker’s decorated career included the 1978 National League MVP Award, two World Series championships a decade apart, back-to-back NL batting titles, three Gold Glove and Silver Slugger awards, seven All-Star nods, the ’79 All-Star Game MVP Award and MLB’s first Home Run Derby title in ‘85. The intimidating outfielder racked up 2,712 career hits with a .290 batting average, launched 339 homers and drove in 1,493 runs from 1973-91.
"We are heartbroken to learn of the passing of Dave Parker. A beloved member of the Pirates family, ‘The Cobra’ was one of the most dominating and intimidating players to ever wear a Pirates uniform,” Pirates chairman Bob Nutting said in a statement. “All of us who grew up in the ‘70s remember how special Dave was. He was an All-Star, a Gold Glover, a batting champion, a National League MVP and a critical part of the 1979 Pirates World Series Championship team. It was our honor to welcome Dave and his family back to Pittsburgh to celebrate his career as part of the inaugural class of the Pirates Hall of Fame.
“He had a big personality and his passing has left an even bigger void with all who knew him. Our hearts go out to his wife, Kellye, and his family.”
Parker was a trailblazer for his peers who drew the ire -- as well as the frequent insults, assaults and threats -- of some fans. Before the 1979 season, he signed a five-year, $5 million contract that made him the first professional baseball player to earn $1 million per season. He was one of the first pro athletes to wear an earring. His poetic, bombastic quotes led teammates to call him the Muhammad Ali of baseball.
“The sun is going to shine, the wind is going to blow, and Dave is going to go 4-for-4.”
His legacy was complicated by his cocaine use and involvement in the Pittsburgh drug trials of 1985, however, with some believing that was what ultimately kept him from being elected to the Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. He spent the then-maximum 15 years on the ballot, but only topped out at 24.5 percent, then fell short on the Modern Baseball Era ballot of 2019.
“He should be in Cooperstown,” former Reds teammate Eric Davis said in MLB Network’s 2019 documentary “The Cobra at Twilight.” “And not as a visitor, either.”
He was finally elected in late 2024, joining late slugger Dick Allen in the Class of 2025 through a vote from the Classic Baseball Era Committee. Parker needed at least 12 of 16 votes and got 14. When word came down, he told MLB Network, “I’ve been holding this speech in for 15 years.”
He will be posthumously inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday, July 27, in Cooperstown, N.Y.
"We join the baseball family in remembering Dave Parker," Hall of Fame Chairman of the Board Jane Forbes Clark said in a statement. "His legacy will be one of courage and leadership, matched only by his outstanding accomplishments on the field. His election to the Hall of Fame in December brought great joy to him, his family and all the fans who marveled at his remarkable abilities. We will honor his incredible life and career at next month’s Induction Ceremony in Cooperstown, where his legacy will be remembered forever.”
Born on June 9, 1951, in Grenada, Miss., Parker was one of six children of Richard and Dannie Mae Parker. The family moved to Cincinnati five years later, and Parker became a three-sport athlete at Courter Tech High School. He was a star running back, but doctors told him his football career was over when he injured his knee after being hit during his senior season. That moment, Parker would say, changed his life.
In the 14th round of the 1970 Draft, the Pirates took a chance on Parker, a high school catcher with a bad knee. By 1972, he was the best prospect in the defending World Series champions’ system. He debuted in San Diego on July 12, 1973, the summer following the tragic death of Pittsburgh legend Roberto Clemente.
As a five-tool right fielder for the Pirates, Parker drew early comparisons to Clemente. For as brash as he could be, Parker wasn’t having it.
“Everybody was talking about me being the next Roberto Clemente. That wasn’t what I was trying to achieve,” he later told MLB Network. “I was trying to make my mark as the first Dave Parker.”
Parker established himself as a regular in 1975, beginning a six-year run during which he batted .317 with an .891 OPS. The 6-foot-5, 230-pound slugger was one of the game’s most feared hitters -- the Steelers’ “Mean” Joe Greene once claimed he initially mistook Parker was a football player -- and most confidently quotable players.
Parker once wore a Star of David necklace. Why? “Well, I’m a David,” he told The Washington Post, “and I’m a star.” There is an iconic photograph of him wearing a T-shirt that reads, “If you hear any noise, it’s just me and the boys boppin.” After fracturing his cheekbone during a collision at home plate in June 1978, Parker missed a handful of games then came back wearing a black-and-yellow hockey goalie’s mask at the plate.
As former Pirates teammate Kent Tekulve once said, Parker was such a spectacle on the field that you didn’t stop to admire what he did. You kept looking to see what he was going to do next.
The reigning NL MVP lived up to his landmark contract in 1979. He was the MVP of the Midsummer Classic in Seattle after unleashing a pair of outfield assists -- one to third base, the other to home plate – that looked like they were shot out of a cannon. And he was the best player for that championship Pirates club remembered for their “We Are Family” theme song at Three Rivers Stadium.
“Dave belongs in the Hall,” Mike Easler told MLB.com after Parker was elected to the Hall of Fame. “He was one of the best players of his era. Those four, five, six, seven years, he was one of the best players in his era.”
After another All-Star season in Pittsburgh, Parker began to put on weight and got injured in the early 1980s. After the ’83 campaign, he signed with his hometown Reds and began the second act of his career as more of a leadership figure. He was rejuvenated on the field, too, despite the drama around the Pittsburgh drug trials, finishing second in the NL MVP voting in 1985 and fifth in ’86.
"We are heartbroken by the passing of Dave Parker," said Bob Castellini, Reds principal owner and managing partner. "Dave was a towering figure on the field, in the clubhouse, and in the Cincinnati community where his baseball journey began, playing on the fields near his home and going to games at Crosley Field. Dave's impact on the game and on this franchise will never be forgotten. We are extremely proud he wore a Reds uniform as part of his Hall of Fame career. Our thoughts are with his family and all who loved him."
Traded to the A’s at the 1987 Winter Meetings, Parker continued to be a leadership figure and veteran hitter for Oakland clubs that won the American League pennant in ’88 and the World Series in ’89. He spent 1990 with the Brewers, earning his final All-Star nod and Silver Slugger Award while batting .289 and mentoring a young Gary Sheffield. His playing career ended in 1991, his age-40 season, as his numbers dropped off with the Angels and Blue Jays.
Parker’s life changed again during a routine checkup in 2012, when a doctor noticed his hand trembling on his leg. He was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, the same condition that afflicted Ali. It was stunning news to everyone who knew him. As Tekulve wondered, “How can this happen to him? He’s invincible.”
Parker’s wife, Kellye, cared for him throughout his fight with Parkinson’s -- the treatment, exercise and frequent trips to the doctor. She was also by his side when Parker returned to Pittsburgh for the 40-year reunion of the 1979 champions, beaming as he received a standing ovation from the crowd at PNC Park.
“I almost cried,” Parker said in 2019. “That’s something I try not to do, but that brought tears to my eyes.”