Gordon Parks (footballer)

{{Infobox football biography

| name = Gordon Parks

| image =

| fullname = Gordon John Parks

| height =

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=y|1972|11|9}}

| birth_place = Glasgow, Scotland

| currentclub =

| position = Striker

| youthyears1 =

| youthclubs1 =

| years1 = 1990–1992

| years2 = 1992–1997

| years3 = 1997

| years4 = 1997–1998

| years5 = 1998–1999

| years6 = 2004–2005

| years7 = 2005

| clubs1 = Dundee United

| clubs2 = Clyde

| clubs3 = Dumbarton

| clubs4 = East Stirlingshire

| clubs5 = Queen's Park

| clubs6 = East Stirlingshire

| clubs7 = Clyde

| caps1 = 0

| caps2 = 49

| caps3 = 4

| caps4 = 21

| caps5 = 20

| caps6 = 9

| caps7 = 0

| totalcaps = 103

| goals1 = 0

| goals2 = 10

| goals3 = 0

| goals4 = 1

| goals5 = 1

| goals6 = 0

| goals7 = 0

| totalgoals = 12

}}

Gordon John Parks (born 9 November 1972) is a Scottish sports journalist and a former footballer.

Playing career

Parks began his career with Dundee United, but failed to make a first team appearance. He joined Clyde in 1992, and after impressing in the Reserve team, he was promoted to the first team for the 1993-94 campaign. He scored 10 goals for the first team in his first two seasons. He broke his leg in a Scottish League Cup match at the start of the 1995-95 season. Parks was out injured for over a year, and never really recovered fully from his injury. He made two more appearances, before signing for Dumbarton.

Parks only made eight appearances for Dumbarton, before joining East Stirlingshire. He went on to have a spell with Queen's Park, before dropping out of the senior game to play junior football with Lesmahagow and Dunipace.

In 2004, he returned to former club East Stirlingshire, before rejoining Clyde in 2005,[http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/c/clyde/4730879.stm Clyde sign 11 players in 24 hours] BBC Sport, 30 July 2005; Retrieved 28 August 2008 although he never played for the first team.{{cite web|url=https://www.soccerbase.com/players/player.sd?player_id=11587|title=Gordon Parks - Forward|publisher=CenturyComm|accessdate=6 August 2019|work=Soccerbase}}

Journalism

During his time playing in the juniors, Parks became a sports journalist, and worked for the Daily Record. In a combined role as a player and journalist, he described the goings on at Firs Park in his weekly column Parks Life.{{fact|date=August 2019}}

Parks has since returned to journalism, writing for the Daily Record.{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/23808606 |title=Ex-player Gordon Parks makes Scottish match-fixing claim |publisher=BBC Sport|date=23 August 2013 |accessdate=16 April 2016}}