Later Years
After his playing days, Parker became the head baseball coach (1953-1966) and assistant football coach (1947-1965) at Duke University. He was manager of the Durham Bulls from 1949–52, serving as player-manager for the first three seasons and finishing with a record of 303-266 (.533). He was Piedmont League manager of the year in 1949 and 1951. He was also a founding member of the Elizabeth Manor Golf and Country Club in Portsmouth, Virginia.
On August 13, 2008, Parker was part of the inaugural class inducted into the Hampton Roads Sports Hall of Fame, honoring athletes, coaches and administrators who made contributions to sports in Southeastern Virginia.
As of 2011, Parker is the oldest living member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. As of October 2011, Parker is the oldest living former professional football player. As of May 8, 2012, he is the last living person to play on the same major league baseball field as Baseball Hall of Fame member Rogers Hornsby. On May 7, 1937, Parker appeared for the Philadelphia Athletics while Hornsby played one of his last games for the St. Louis Browns. Parker and Hall of Famer Bobby Doerr are the last men to play on the same field as baseball immortal Lou Gehrig.
Ace Parker turned 100 on May 17, 2012.
Read more about this topic: Ace Parker
Famous quotes containing the word years:
“A person of mature years and ripe development, who is expecting nothing from literature but the corroboration and renewal of past ideas, may find satisfaction in a lucidity so complete as to occasion no imaginative excitement, but young and ambitious students are not content with it. They seek the excitement because they are capable of the growth that it accompanies.”
—Charles Horton Cooley (1864–1929)
“I was born a mechanic, and made a barrel before I was ten years old. The cooper told my father, “Fanny made that barrel, and has done it quicker and better than any boy I have had after six months’ training.” My father looked at it and said, “What a pity that you were not born a boy so that you could be good for something. Run into the house, child, and go to knitting.””
—Frances D. Gage (1808–1884)