Parker's teammates celebrate as Cobra reaches Cooperstown

December 9th, 2024

Of all the accolades and accomplishments from ¡¯s legendary career -- whether it be his 1978 National League MVP, two World Series rings or multiple batting titles, Gold Gloves and Silver Sluggers -- one of his greatest touchstones in baseball lore is a picture of him wearing a T-shirt.

That shirt simply read: ¡°If you hear any noise, it¡¯s just me and the boys boppin.¡±

The idea was borne out of a rough patch the team was on and the group not being happy with their offensive production and where they were in the standings. Parker felt the frustration, so he went to a mall to have the custom T-shirt made. The clubhouse loved it, and an iconic image was born.

¡°And don't go out and try to copyright it because it's mine,¡± Parker said over Zoom on Sunday.

¡°He just wanted everybody to relax, and that was his way of doing it,¡± longtime Pirate Kent Tekulve said over the phone on Monday.

It was a small example of why Parker was so beloved and a leader of those late-'70s Pirates teams. If Willie Stargell was ¡°Pops,¡± Parker was the team¡¯s big brother in the Fam-A-Lee. And that Fam-A-Lee finally got the long-awaited good news they waited years for: Parker is now a Hall of Famer, being elected Sunday at the Winter Meetings via the Classic Era Committee. Parker was one of two players elected this year via that committee, joining Dick Allen.

Parker¡¯s candidacy had been debated for years. One of the greatest players of the '70s, he was mired in controversy in the '80s, which some of his former teammates believed hurt his Hall of Fame chances. But Parker¡¯s fourth time on a Veterans Committee ballot was the charm, much to the joy of his teammates who vocally supported his case through the decades.

¡°I was finally glad that justice was done,¡± John Candelaria said over the phone on Monday. ¡°I wasn¡¯t sure [it would happen], but I was hoping.¡±

¡°Dave belongs in the Hall,¡± Mike Easler said over the phone on Monday. ¡°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.¡±

Parker¡¯s accolades on the field are well known. His leadership in the Pirates' clubhouse -- and future teams¡¯ clubhouses -- made him an icon. His confidence and wit were seldomly matched -- Tekulve could only compare him to Steve Blass when it comes to the latter -- yielding some all-time phrases. Parker shared one during his Hall of Fame Zoom call: ¡°When the leaves turn brown, that¡¯s when I¡¯ll wear the batting crown.¡±

¡°He was the Muhammad Ali of baseball,¡± Easler said. ¡°He talked, and what he talked and bragged about, he backed it up with numbers and hustle and the way he played the game.¡±

¡°He¡¯d talk a lot of smack. He¡¯d back it up,¡± Candelaria said.

Another favorite centered around the three things that were going to happen that day: the sun was gonna shine, the wind was gonna blow and big Dave was going to go 4-for-4, or have three hits, or two hits and a homer. Whatever was on the docket that day for the batting champ.

¡°You wouldn¡¯t say it, because you¡¯d be afraid you wouldn¡¯t get the three knocks,¡± Tekulve said. ¡°Especially in our clubhouse. Everybody would get on your ass. He didn¡¯t care, and he would go out and get the three knocks. He liked putting pressure on himself. He liked saying some ridiculous things sometimes, just to force him to live up to it.¡±

Backing up those performances is what made Parker a legend. It¡¯s why so many who played with or against him were the ones calling for Parker to get the call to Cooperstown. The Pirates held a celebration of the 1979 World Series team this May at PNC Park, and almost all of the players in attendance voiced support for Parker that day, usually unprompted. That¡¯s the norm for them.

¡°Every time we get together or we¡¯re talking to somebody we played against -- it doesn¡¯t have to be someone in the Hall of Fame, it didn¡¯t have to be a star player, just anybody -- the conversation would work around [to] Dave,¡± Tekulve said. ¡°Our first statement was we didn¡¯t understand why Dave wasn¡¯t in the Hall of Fame.¡±

The group is perhaps a bit biased, but that¡¯s because they have a ring to show for it. Parker¡¯s dominance in the late ¡¯70s, culminating in an MVP in 1978 and playing a major role for that 1979 championship team, is ultimately his legacy with the organization. It¡¯s a chapter that probably wouldn¡¯t have been written without him.

¡°Without Dave, I don¡¯t think we would have won,¡± Easler said. ¡°Simple as that. Sure we had Stargell. Sure we had [Bill] Madlock. We had great players. But Dave Parker was a leader on the team. He led by example. When Dave went, the team went. As simple as that.¡±

That 1979 team is forever labeled as Fam-A-Lee, and that bond is forever.

¡°The Pirates meant a lot to me,¡± Parker said. ¡°They were a great brotherhood and they were always behind me. I could leave, come back and everything is the same.¡±

seductrice.net
universo-virtual.com
buytrendz.net
thisforall.net
benchpressgains.com
qthzb.com
mindhunter9.com
dwjqp1.com
secure-signup.net
ahaayy.com
tressesindia.com
puresybian.com
krpano-chs.com
cre8workshop.com
hdkino.org
peixun021.com
qz786.com
utahperformingartscenter.org
worldqrmconference.com
shangyuwh.com
eejssdfsdfdfjsd.com
playminecraftfreeonline.com
trekvietnamtour.com
your-business-articles.com
essaywritingservice10.com
hindusamaaj.com
joggingvideo.com
wandercoups.com
wormblaster.net
tongchengchuyange0004.com
internetknowing.com
breachurch.com
peachesnginburlesque.com
dataarchitectoo.com
clientfunnelformula.com
30pps.com
cherylroll.com
ks2252.com
prowp.net
webmanicura.com
sofietsshotel.com
facetorch.com
nylawyerreview.com
apapromotions.com
shareparelli.com
goeaglepointe.com
thegreenmanpubphuket.com
karotorossian.com
publicsensor.com
taiwandefence.com
epcsur.com
southstills.com
tvtv98.com
thewellington-hotel.com
bccaipiao.com
colectoresindustrialesgs.com
shenanddcg.com
capriartfilmfestival.com
replicabreitlingsale.com
thaiamarinnewtoncorner.com
gkmcww.com
mbnkbj.com
andrewbrennandesign.com
cod54.com
luobinzhang.com
faithfirst.net
zjyc28.com
tongchengjinyeyouyue0004.com
nhuan6.com
kftz5k.com
oldgardensflowers.com
lightupthefloor.com
bahamamamas-stjohns.com
ly2818.com
905onthebay.com
fonemenu.com
notanothermovie.com
ukrainehighclassescort.com
meincmagazine.com
av-5858.com
yallerdawg.com
donkeythemovie.com
corporatehospitalitygroup.com
boboyy88.com
miteinander-lernen.com
dannayconsulting.com
officialtomsshoesoutletstore.com
forsale-amoxil-amoxicillin.net
generictadalafil-canada.net
guitarlessonseastlondon.com
lesliesrestaurants.com
mattyno9.com
nri-homeloans.com
rtgvisas-qatar.com
salbutamolventolinonline.net
sportsinjuries.info
wedsna.com
rgkntk.com
bkkmarketplace.com
zxqcwx.com
breakupprogram.com
boxcardc.com
unblockyoutubeindonesia.com
fabulousbookmark.com
beat-the.com
guatemala-sailfishing-vacations-charters.com
magie-marketing.com
kingstonliteracy.com
guitaraffinity.com
eurelookinggoodapparel.com
howtolosecheekfat.net
marioncma.org
oliviadavismusic.com
shantelcampbellrealestate.com
shopleborn13.com
topindiafree.com
v-visitors.net
djjky.com
053hh.com
originbluei.com
baucishotel.com
33kkn.com
intrinsiqresearch.com
mariaescort-kiev.com
mymaguk.com
sponsored4u.com
crimsonclass.com
bataillenavale.com
searchtile.com
ze-stribrnych-struh.com
zenithalhype.com
modalpkv.com
bouisset-lafforgue.com
useupload.com
37r.net
autoankauf-muenster.com
bantinbongda.net
bilgius.com
brabustermagazine.com
indigrow.org
miicrosofts.net
mysmiletravel.com
selinasims.com
spellcubesapp.com
usa-faction.com
hypoallergenicdogsnames.com
dailyupdatez.com
foodphotographyreviews.com
cricutcom-setup.com
chprowebdesign.com
katyrealty-kanepa.com
tasramar.com
bilgipinari.org
four-am.com
indiarepublicday.com
inquick-enbooks.com
iracmpi.com
kakaschoenen.com
lsm99flash.com
nana1255.com
ngen-niagara.com
technwzs.com
virtualonlinecasino1345.com
wallpapertop.net
casino-natali.com
iprofit-internet.com
denochemexicana.com
eventhalfkg.com
medcon-taiwan.com
life-himawari.com
myriamshomes.com
nightmarevue.com
healthandfitnesslives.com
androidnews-jp.com
allstarsru.com
bestofthebuckeyestate.com
bestofthefirststate.com
bestwireless7.com
britsmile.com
declarationintermittent.com
findhereall.com
jingyou888.com
lsm99deal.com
lsm99galaxy.com
moozatech.com
nuagh.com
patliyo.com
philomenamagikz.net
rckouba.net
saturnunipessoallda.com
tallahasseefrolics.com
thematurehardcore.net
totalenvironment-inthatquietearth.com
velislavakaymakanova.com
vermontenergetic.com
kakakpintar.com
begorgeouslady.com
1800birks4u.com
2wheelstogo.com
6strip4you.com
bigdata-world.net
emailandco.net
gacapal.com
jharpost.com
krishnaastro.com
lsm99credit.com
mascalzonicampani.com
sitemapxml.org
thecityslums.net
topagh.com
flairnetwebdesign.com
rajasthancarservices.com
bangkaeair.com
beneventocoupon.com
noternet.org
oqtive.com
smilebrightrx.com
decollage-etiquette.com
1millionbestdownloads.com
7658.info
bidbass.com
devlopworldtech.com
digitalmarketingrajkot.com
fluginfo.net
naqlafshk.com
passion-decouverte.com
playsirius.com
spacceleratorintl.com
stikyballs.com
top10way.com
yokidsyogurt.com
zszyhl.com
16firthcrescent.com
abogadolaboralistamd.com
apk2wap.com
aromacremeria.com
banparacard.com
bosmanraws.com
businessproviderblog.com
caltonosa.com
calvaryrevivalchurch.org
chastenedsoulwithabrokenheart.com
cheminotsgardcevennes.com
cooksspot.com
cqxzpt.com
deesywig.com
deltacartoonmaps.com
despixelsetdeshommes.com
duocoracaobrasileiro.com
fareshopbd.com
goodpainspills.com
hemendekor.com
kobisitecdn.com
makaigoods.com
mgs1454.com
piccadillyresidences.com
radiolaondafresca.com
rubendorf.com
searchengineimprov.com
sellmyhrvahome.com
shugahouseessentials.com
sonihullquad.com
subtractkilos.com
valeriekelmansky.com
vipasdigitalmarketing.com
voolivrerj.com
zeelonggroup.com
1015southrockhill.com
10x10b.com
111-online-casinos.com
191cb.com
3665arpentunitd.com
aitesonics.com
bag-shokunin.com
brightotech.com
communication-digitale-services.com
covoakland.org
dariaprimapack.com
freefortniteaccountss.com
gatebizglobal.com
global1entertainmentnews.com
greatytene.com
hiroshiwakita.com
iktodaypk.com
jahatsakong.com
meadowbrookgolfgroup.com
newsbharati.net
platinumstudiosdesign.com
slotxogamesplay.com
strikestaruk.com
trucosdefortnite.com
ufabetrune.com
weddedtowhitmore.com
12940brycecanyonunitb.com
1311dietrichoaks.com
2monarchtraceunit303.com
601legendhill.com
850elaine.com
adieusolasomade.com
andora-ke.com
bestslotxogames.com
cannagomcallen.com
endlesslyhot.com
iestpjva.com
ouqprint.com
pwmaplefest.com
qtylmr.com
rb88betting.com
buscadogues.com
1007macfm.com
born-wild.com
growthinvests.com
promocode-casino.com
proyectogalgoargentina.com
wbthompson-art.com
whitemountainwheels.com
7thavehvl.com
developmethis.com
funkydogbowties.com
travelodgegrandjunction.com
gao-town.com
globalmarketsuite.com
blogshippo.com
hdbka.com
proboards67.com
outletonline-michaelkors.com
kalkis-research.com
thuthuatit.net
buckcash.com
hollistercanada.com
docterror.com
asadart.com
vmayke.org
erwincomputers.com
dirimart.org
okkii.com
loteriasdecehegin.com
mountanalog.com
healingtaobritain.com
ttxmonitor.com
nwordpress.com
11bolabonanza.com