James "Quick" Parker

{{Short description|American gridiron football player (1958–2018)}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}

{{sources|date=March 2018}}

{{Infobox gridiron football person

| image =

| alt =

| caption =

| birth_date = {{birth date|1958|1|1}}

| birth_place = Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.

| death_date = {{death date and age|2018|3|27|1958|1|1}}

| death_place = Langley, British Columbia, Canada

| team =

| number = 40

| status =

| import = yes

| position1 = Defensive end

| position2 = Linebacker

| height_ft =

| height_in =

| weight_lb =

| college = Wake Forest

| playing_years1 = {{CFL Year|1980|1983}}

| playing_team1 = Edmonton Eskimos

| playing_years2 = {{CFL Year|1984|1989}}

| playing_team2 = BC Lions

| playing_years3 = {{CFL Year|1990|1991}}

| playing_team3 = Toronto Argonauts

| career_highlights =

| CFLAllStar = {{CFL Year|1981}}, {{CFL Year|1982}}, {{CFL Year|1984|1986}}

| CFLWestAllStar = {{CFL Year|1981|1986}}

| awards = {{CFL Year|1982}}, {{CFL Year|1984}}, {{CFL Year|1986}} - CFL Most Outstanding Defensive Player

| records = Eskimos record

  • Most sacks – Season (18.5) - 1981

| CFHOF = james-quick-parker

| CFHOFYear = 2001

}}

James "Quick" Parker (January 1, 1958 – March 27, 2018) was an American former professional football player who was a leading defensive player in the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

After attending Wake Forest University from 1976 to 1979, where he was a conference all star and second in all-time career sacks with 15, Parker joined the Edmonton Eskimos in 1980, right in the middle of the greatest dynasty in CFL history. He played with them for 4 years, until 1983, when he moved to the BC Lions for six seasons (from 1984 to 1989) and finished his 12-year career with the Toronto Argonauts (1990 to 1991).{{cite web|title=James (Quick) Parker|publisher=Canadian Football Hall of Fame|url=http://www.cfhof.ca/members/james-quick-parker/|access-date=2010-07-30}}

Though small, Parker was famed for his quick burst off the line of scrimmage. He won the CFL's Most Outstanding Defensive Player Award three times (1982, 1984, 1986) and was an all star six times. He played in five Grey Cup games, winning four championships. During 1984 season, his first with the BC Lions, he had 26.5 sacks in a single season which is still a CFL record. Parker has the fourth-highest number of regular season quarterback sacks in CFL history, with 139.5.{{cite news|last=Beamish|first=Mike|title=CFL legend James Parker keen on joining B.C. Lions coaching staff|work=The Vancouver Sun|date=2010-01-15|url=https://vancouversun.com/sports/legend+James+Parker+keen+joining+Lions+coaching+staff/2447207/story.html|access-date=2010-07-30}} {{Dead link|date=October 2010|bot=H3llBot}}

Parker was inducted into the Wake Forest University's Sports Hall of Fame in 1997 and the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 2001.{{cite web|title=Athletics Hall of Fame|publisher=Wake Forest University|url=http://wakeforestsports.cstv.com/trads/wake-trads-halloffame.html|access-date=2010-07-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080509152841/http://wakeforestsports.cstv.com/trads/wake-trads-halloffame.html|archive-date=2008-05-09|url-status=dead}} In November 2006, he was voted one of the CFL's Top 50 players (#21) of the league's modern era by Canadian sports network The Sports Network/TSN.{{cite web|title=TSN Top 50 CFL Players|url=https://www.tsn.ca/cfl/feature/?fid=10865|access-date=2010-07-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929123707/http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/feature/?fid=10865 |archive-date=2007-09-29}}

The Lions announced Parker died on March 27, 2018.{{cite news|title=Lions' DL James 'Quick' Parker dies at 60|url=https://www.tsn.ca/lions-dl-james-quick-parker-dies-at-60-1.1040089|access-date=28 March 2018|publisher=TSN|date=March 28, 2018}}

Awards and honours

  • CFL All Star Team - 1981, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1986
  • Western All Star (Outside Linebacker, Defensive End) - 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986
  • Schenley Most Outstanding Defensive Player - 1982, 1984, 1986
  • Grey Cup Defensive Player of the Game - 1985
  • Norm Fieldgate Trophy (Most Outstanding Defensive Player in the Western Division) - 1982, 1984, 1986
  • Grey Cups played in - 1980, 1981, 1982, 1985, 1988
  • Grey Cup championships - 1980, 1981, 1982, 1985

References