David Gene "The Cobra" Parker was born on June 9, 1951, in Calhoun, Mississippi. He played for 19 seasons in the Major Leagues with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnati Reds, Oakland Athletics, Milwaukee Brewers, California Angels, and Toronto Blue Jays. During his career, he was a seven-time All-Star, and two-time World Series Champ (he won titles while playing for the Pirates in 1979 and with the A's in 1989). In addition, he was a three-time Gold Glove Award-winner, a three-time Silver Slugger Award-winner, 1978 NL MVP, and MVP of the 1979 MLB All-Star Game, where he showcased his impressive talents. Parker also won the Home Run Derby at the 1985 All-Star Game.

The left-handed hitting, right-handed throwing "five-tool" outfielder had become the the heir-apparent to Roberto Clemente's hallowed right-field ground at Three Rivers Stadium, and early on in his career, Parker put up Clemente-esque numbers. He quickly became arguably the best player in the Major Leagues, and his "out of this world" play was rewarded by the Pirates early on with baseball's first million-dollar-per-year contact, and Parker rewarded the Pirates by helping to deliver a World Championship in 1979. That same year, he literally knocked the cover off a ball during a game. However, in 1981, at a point when his career looked like it was going to one day rate among the game's all-time greats, Parker started to suffer from some nagging injuries and weight increase, which ultimately led to Parker's increase use of cocain. He infamously became the central figure of a drug scandal that spread throughout the Major Leagues, and Parker was among several players who testified against a drug dealer in the Pittsburgh drug trials; Parker, himself, was later fined by Major League Baseball for his admitted drug use.

Despite this dark side to his career, Dave Parker will always be remembered for his larger than life stature (few men his size were so agile and able to move so quickly), his strong cannon for an arm, his incredibly powerful sweet swing (he would simply crush baseballs), and for holding his bat in the batter's box like a cobra that was ready to strike, hence his nickname. He was so feared by opposing pitchers that he twice led the league in intentional walks.

After his playing days, Parker served as a first-base coach for the Anaheim Angels and as batting coach for the St. Louis Cardinals, and then as a special hitting instructor for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Parker also owns several Popeye's Chicken franchises in Cincinnati, and in 2008, former teammate Oakland A's Dave Henderson revealed that Parker had had both of his knees replaced. For a number of years during his early career, Parker was perhaps the most feared hitter in the Major Leagues. He looked like a sure-fire first ballot Hall of Famer; however, the subsequent drug implications not only helped to derail this pheonomal talent's career, but also tarnished his reputation with the baseball writers who vote on the Hall of Fame candidates. Dave Parker was an incredible baseball player, but we are sadly left with the unsatisfactory feeling of what could have been, if it had not been for his inner demons. As Parker's former Manager Chuck Tanner said of Parker, "He was one of the greatest I ever managed and one of the greatest who ever played, in my opinion. He has Hall of Fame credentials." ###