David Wayne Parks (December 25, 1941 – August 8, 2019) was an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

and

tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He was the first overall selection in the

1964 NFL draft The 1964 NFL draft was held in Chicago, Illinois, at the Sheraton Hotel & Towers on Monday, December 2, 1963. The first overall pick was Dave Parks, an end from Texas Tech, selected by the San Francisco 49ers. The AFL draft was two days e ...

out of Texas Technological College (now

Texas Tech University Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public university, public research university in Lubbock, Texas, United States. Established on February 10, 1923, and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the flagship instit ...

). Parks was selected to three Pro Bowls, and was an All-Pro selection two times. In 1965 he captured the "triple crown" of receiving, leading the NFL in receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns. In 2008 Parks was selected to be enshrined in the

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive Tourist attraction, attraction devoted to college football, college American football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players ...

Career

High school

Parks attended Abilene High School (Abilene, Texas) and played for head coach Chuck Moser.

College

Parks played at the college level for the Texas Tech Red Raiders in 1961–1963. While at Texas Tech, Parks set several school records and earned many accolades. During his junior season in 1962, Parks was named an All-

Southwest Conference The Southwest Conference (SWC) was an NCAA Division I college athletic conference in the United States that existed from 1914 to 1996. Composed primarily of schools from Texas, at various times the conference also included schools from Oklaho ...

selection. Following his final season in 1963, Parks became the first player in Texas Tech history to be named an

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All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

, and also earned selections from ''

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'', ''

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'', ''Boston Recorder-American'', ''Sports Extra'', the American Football Coaches Association, and '' Football Weekly''. Additionally, Parks received invitations to the East West Shrine Game, the Senior Bowl, and the Coaches All-America Game. Upon his graduation, Parks held the school records for career receptions (80), single-season receptions (32), single game receptions (8 vs. Kansas State in 1963), and single game receiving yards (132 vs Kansas State in 1963). His record for longest interception return of 98 yards that occurred during a

1962 The year saw the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is often considered the closest the world came to a Nuclear warfare, nuclear confrontation during the Cold War. Events January * January 1 – Samoa, Western Samoa becomes independent from Ne ...

game versus

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still remains a school record. Parks was one of only five Texas Tech players to have their jerseys retired and along with E.J. Holub,

Donny Anderson Garry Don Anderson (born May 16, 1943) is an American former professional football player who was a halfback and punter for nine seasons with the Green Bay Packers and St. Louis Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). From Texas Te ...

, Gabe Rivera, and Zach Thomas. He was named to the inaugural class of the Texas Tech Ring of Honor, which honors the players by engraving their names into a ring around

Jones AT&T Stadium Jones AT&T Stadium (commonly referred to as "The Jones") is an outdoor athletic stadium on the campus of Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas. Built in the style of Spanish Renaissance architecture, it is the home field of the Texas Tech Red ...

, and has been the only Red Raider selected as the 1st overall pick of the NFL Draft. Parks was voted into the

in 2008, joining fellow Red Raiders

, Hub Bechtol, E. J. Holub, and Gabriel Rivera. Parks was also inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in 2012.

NFL

Parks was the first overall selection of the

by the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

. He was one of only three people to be drafted No. 1 as a wide receiver, alongside Irving Fryar in 1984 and Keyshawn Johnson in 1996. Six games into his

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience, a rookie is typically considered needing more tra ...

season, Parks set a franchise record for longest reception with an 83-yard catch, followed by the team's second longest reception, an 80-yarder, a week later. Both records stood for 13 years. In 1965, he achieved the receiving triple crown, leading the

in receptions with 80, receiving yards with 1,344, and receiving touchdowns with 12. For his performance, he was selected to the 1965 Pro Bowl and was named to the 1965 All-Pro Team. He was named to the 1966 All-Pro Team and went on to attend the 1966 Pro Bowl and the 1967 Pro Bowl. After playing his option year with the 49ers in 1967, Parks signed as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

with the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

in 1968. In the second of only four times the NFL exercised the Rozelle rule, the 49ers received Kevin Hardy and a 1969 first-round selection (7th overall– Ted Kwalick) as compensation. He spent five seasons with the Saints. In 1973, he played for the Houston Oilers, and retired after the season. He ended his career with 360 receptions, 5,619 receiving yards, a 15.6 average, and 44 touchdowns.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Personal life

He lived in

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

, and served as the associate director of the Texas Ranger Law Enforcement Organization. Parks would go on to invent the 'Speedy Weedy', a lawn and garden tool. Parks died on August 7, 2019, aged 77.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parks, Dave 1941 births 2019 deaths Abilene High School (Abilene, Texas) alumni Players of American football from Cooke County, Texas American football wide receivers San Francisco 49ers players New Orleans Saints players Houston Oilers players Western Conference Pro Bowl players Texas Tech Red Raiders football players First overall NFL draft picks College Football Hall of Fame inductees People from Muenster, Texas All-American college football players 21st-century American inventors Southern California Sun players Phi Delta Theta members