'Burgh's Best to Wear It, No. 39: Dave Parker brought lumber to Pirates in 1970s

The Tribune-Review sports staff is conducting a daily countdown of the best players in Pittsburgh pro and college sports history to wear each jersey number.

No. 39: Dave Parker

He has the hardware — two batting titles, a National League MVP award, an All-Star MVP trophy and, most importantly, a World Series ring.

He has impressive numbers — a .290 career batting average, 339 home runs, 2,712 hits and 1,493 RBIs.

He has the cool nickname — “Cobra” — and the batting stance with the circular bat swirl that kids emulated throughout the 1970s.

What Dave Parker doesn’t have is a spot in the Baseball Hall of Fame, and that elusive plaque in Cooperstown is what the former Pittsburgh Pirates right fielder covets more than anything at this stage of his life.

Parker turned 69 in June and continues his fight with Parkinson’s disease. The Hall of Fame remains the one unchecked item on his lifetime list of achievements.

“I did everything I could do to make it to the Hall of Fame,” Parker said in December. “The numbers are there. I think it’s reflected that I was one of the No. 1 players of my era. You can’t do any more than I’ve done.”

Parker, voted by the Tribune-Review sports staff as the best athlete in Pittsburgh sports history to wear No. 39, fell shy of election on the Modern Era ballot a few days later. It was the second time he came up short since he was eligible for Veterans Committee consideration.

Parker spent the first 11 seasons of his 19-year MLB career with the Pirates, breaking into the majors in July 1973 at the tender age of 22. He emerged as one of the National League’s top offensive forces later in the decade, winning batting titles in 1977 and ’78 and earning NL MVP honors in ’78.

In 1979, Parker batted .310 with 25 home runs and 94 RBIs to help the Pirates to their most recent World Series title. At the midsummer classic, he threw out Jim Rice at third base and Brian Downing at home plate, showing off the most impressive arm in the game.

Parker became the first position player to get a $1 million-per-year contract, and the big money — combined with his declining statistics — rankled Pirates fans in the 1980s. His testimony at the Pittsburgh drug trials put a black mark on a career that he rejuvenated with the Cincinnati Reds and Oakland Athletics.

After his career ended, Parker never received more than 24.5% of the vote during his 15 years on the BBWAA Hall of Fame ballot. Then, he was bypassed on the Modern Era ballot in favor of Marvin Miller and Ted Simmons.

Parker’s next chance won’t come until 2021 or ’22.

A year before Parker burst on the scene, left-hander Bob Veale wore No. 39 and was winding down an 11-year career with the Pirates. A two-time All-Star, Veale went 120-95 with a 3.07 ERA in his career, throwing 20 shutouts and 78 complete games.

Veale won at least 13 games each season in a six-year stretch, beginning in 1964, and his 276 strikeouts in 1965 led the NL and remains the Pirates’ single-season record. Veale trails only Bob Friend on the franchise’s career strikeouts list.

More recently, right-hander Jason Grilli wore No. 39 in four seasons with the Pirates, and he had 33 saves in 2013 when the team returned to the playoffs for the first time since 1992.

Other contributors to the Pittsburgh sports scene who wore No. 39:

• Undrafted free agent ”Fast” Willie Parker remains third on the Steelers’ career rushing list with 5,378 yards. Parker had three consecutive seasons with at least 1,200 yards rushing, topping out at 1,494 yards in 2006. A two-time Pro Bowler, Parker is best remembered for his record 75-yard touchdown run that led the Steelers to a 21-10 victory against the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XL, giving the franchise its fifth Lombardi Trophy.

• Darren Perry, an eighth-round draft pick in 1992, spent seven of his nine NFL seasons at free safety for the Steelers. Starting 110 consecutive games at the outset of his career, Perry had a nose for the football, intercepting 35 passes, including six as a rookie and seven in 1994.

• Punter Bobby Walden spent the last 10 of his 14 NFL seasons with the Steelers, and he earned Super Bowl rings after the 1974 and ’75 seasons. Walden holds the Steelers record with 716 career punts.

• Minkah Fitzpatrick earned All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors in 2019 after the Steelers acquired him from the Miami Dolphins. Fitzpatrick led all NFL defenders with eight takeaways (five interceptions, three fumble recoveries). He also scored on a 96-yard interception return and 43-yard fumble return.

Check out the entire ’Burgh’s Best to Wear It series here.