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OG Jim Parker (NFL Hall of Fame)

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Here is a fact about his place in NFL history that's worth repeating:

Jim Parker was a unanimous choice for the NFL's 75th anniversary team.
 
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That Biddle article was truly outstanding. I'll never forget the ESPN story that was done on Coach Hayes a few years back. Guys like Coach Knight, Archie, Skladany, and others talking about Coach Hayes. The strongest comment that was made about Coach Hayes was by Jim Parker. Big Jim stated to the interviewer that he "would die and go to hell for that man."

Truly a great loss to the Buckeye family. Condolences to the entire Parker family.

Wouldn't it be somewhat fitting if when Coach Hayes comes to the Pearly Gates to welcome Jim, that Jim shows up in Wrestling singlets with a Budweiser in his hand. These two men obviously shared something much more than a "Coach-Player" relationship.
 
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cf.hof

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=5 width=450 border=1><TBODY><TR vAlign=top align=left bgColor=#ffea73><TD colSpan=2 height=15>Jim "Big Jim" Parker</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top align=left><TD align=middle>
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Position: Guard
School: Ohio State
High School: Macon, GA (Unknown)Toledo, OH (Scott HS)
Years: 1954-1956
Inducted: 1974
Place of Birth: Macon, GA
Date of Birth: 4/3/1934
Place of Death: Columbia, MD
Date of Death: 7/18/2005
Jersey Number: 62
Height: 6-2
Weight: 248

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</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top align=left bgColor=#ffea73><TD colSpan=2 height=2>Member Biography</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top align=left><TD colSpan=2>
The Ohio State backfield shifts to punt formation. The ball is snapped. The kick is away. Jim Parker breaks downfield beneath the floating ball just as it arrives in the receiver's hands. The Ohio lineman hurls himself into the enemy runner, who folds with the force of the flying tackle. This was a common sight during the Buckeye seasons of the mid-1950s. It was Big Jim Parker's trademark, the blazing sprint, the lunge and the violent tackle. Parker was a huge man, at 248- pounds the largest guard to play for Ohio State up to that time. But despite his size, Parker was cat-quick, explosive and driven by unflinching determination. As a workhorse in the Buckeye line, he made coach Woody Hayes' three-yards-and-a-cloud-of- dust-offense work. A sophomore in 1954, the Macon, Georgia, native opened holes for Buckeye backs as they raced to a perfect 10-game season, the Big Ten Conference title and the national championship. In 1956, Parker was by far the flashiest lineman in the country, and his efforts were rewarded when he became the first Ohio State player to win the Outland Award. After college, Parker recorded several All-Pro seasons with the Baltimore Colts.​
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official.site

Jim Parker


1956 Outland Trophy Winner

Jim Parker was Ohio State’s first Outland Trophy winner as the nation’s top interior lineman. He also is the player by which his former coach, the late Woody Hayes, measured all other offensive linemen.

“Jim Parker was the greatest offensive lineman I ever coached. I’m not sure there has ever been a better offensive guard,” said Hayes upon Parker’s induction into the Ohio State Athletics Hall of Fame. “He was everything an offensive lineman should be.”

Indeed, Parker could do it all. A tremendous athlete, the 6-2, 200-pounder could pull and run block with the best of them. And on the relatively few occasions when the Buckeyes decided to throw the ball, getting around the agile, quick-footed Parker was next to impossible.

Parker was a three-year starter and two-time All-American for the Buckeyes. He won the Outland Trophy as a senior in 1956. During his three years as a starter, Ohio State won 23 of 28 games, captured the 1954
National Championship and won back-to-back Big Ten titles in 1954 and ’55.
Parker, who was born in Macon, Ga., but played his last two years of high school football in Toledo, Ohio, was the Buckeyes’ MVP in 1956.

A first round pick of the Baltimore Colts the following spring, he went on to enjoy a distinguished career in the NFL as a perennial all-pro pick.

In addition to being a charter member of the Ohio State Athletics Hall of Fame, Parker also is a member of the College Football and the Professional Football halls of fame.
His play set a standard of excellence for all future Ohio State linemen.
 
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Before Randall, There Was 'Big Jim'
Remembering Hall Of Famer Jim Parker
by Tony McClean, BASN Editor In Chief, [email protected]
POSTED: Aug 17, 2009

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Jim Parker

NEW HAVEN, Ct. -- Last weekend, All-Pro standout guard Randall McDaniel was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

The 12-time Pro Bowler is regarded by many as one of the most versatile offensive lineman to ever play the game. However, one of the best to ever play the game set the standard for many future lineman like McDaniel.

Back in 1957, legendary offensive line Jim Parker, an Ohio State standout, was the Baltimore Colts' first pick in the 1957 draft. He helped Baltimore win two NFL titles before retiring in 1967.

In 1973, Parker became the first full-time offensive lineman to be elected to the Hall of Fame. His induction helped pave the way for other standout lineman like Roosevelt Brown, Art Shell, Gene Upshaw, and Jackie Slater to join him in Canton.

When Parker came to Ohio State, he started his career as a great defensive lineman using his athleticism to make plays on the 1954 national championship team helping the Buckeyes to dominate USC in the 1955 Rose Bowl.

The 250-pound Parker was not only big, but he used his rare athleticism and technique to pave the way for tailback Howard "Hopalong" Cassidy leading him to the Heisman Trophy in 1955
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In 1956, Parker became the first African-American college football player to win the Outland Trophy as the best linebacker in America. Then Parker was moved over to the offensive line where he became one of the best guards to ever play the game and praised by Woody Hayes as "the best offensive lineman I ever coached."

In Parker's career, the Buckeyes won two Big Ten titles, a national title, and went 23-5 during his career. Parker, who was born in Macon, Georgia, played his last two years of high school football in Toledo, Ohio and was the Buckeyes' MVP in 1956.
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Before Randall, There Was 'Big Jim'
 
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OSU ON SUNDAY
TODAY: GUARDS
Saturday, September 19, 2009
By BY RAY STEIN

Each week, Gameday+ examines Ohio State's impact on professional football with a position-by-position analysis of the Buckeyes who have made a mark in the NFL.

Dilemma time. Where to acknowledge Jim Parker, the quintessential Ohio State offensive lineman? He's one of five former OSU players to make the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but he divided his time in the NFL about equally between tackle and guard. For these purposes he'll be listed at guard, where the competition is not quite as stout.
The best
Jim Parker

College life

Recruited out of Toledo by Woody Hayes, the native of Macon, Ga., played three years at OSU. He was a key player for the Buckeyes' 1954 national-title team, was part of two Big Ten championship teams and in 1956 won the Outland Trophy as the nation's top interior lineman.

Path to the pros

First-round draft choice (No. 8 overall) by the Baltimore Colts in 1957.

NFL career

A perennial All-Pro player, first as a left tackle and later at guard. He made eight straight Pro Bowls from 1958 to 1965, four at each position. He played on two NFL championship teams (1958 and '59), and on the 1964 Colts team that lost to Cleveland in the title game. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1973, the first full-time offensive lineman to be honored.

Little-known fact

Try these numbers on for size: 273 and $35,000. The former is Parker's official playing weight (he was lighter still at Ohio State). At 273 pounds today, Parker probably would be asked to play H-back. The latter figure was the highest annual salary Parker earned as a pro.

Quotable

"It didn't take me long to learn the one big rule: 'Just keep them away from John,' Coach Ewbank told me at my first practice. 'You can be the most unpopular man on the team if the quarterback gets hurt.' I couldn't forget that!" -- Parker, recounting Baltimore coach Weeb Ewbank's commands that quarterback Johnny Unitas be protected at all costs.
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The Columbus Dispatch : OSU ON SUNDAY
 
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