Derrick Parker (born 7 February 1957) is an English retired professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a striker. He played for six different teams in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

during his career, as well as having a spell in Finland with

Haka Valkeakoski FC Haka, originally ''Valkeakosken Haka'', commonly known as Haka, is a Finnish professional football club based in the industrial town of Valkeakoski. The club was founded in 1934 and competes in Finland's premier division, the Veikkausliiga. ...

. He also played for several

non-league Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is ...

clubs.

Playing career

Parker's career began in 1974 when he was promoted from the youths to the first team at

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...

. He played six matches in three years for Burnley, and scored two goals, before moving to

Southend United Southend United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth level of English football. The team are known as "The Shrimpers", a reference ...

in 1977. He was a first-team regular at Roots Hall, making 129 league appearances in just three seasons and scoring 43 goals in the process. His performances for Southend earned him a transfer to

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...

in February 1980. He played over 100 league games for the club before joining

Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional association football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. As of the 2025–26 EFL League Two, 2025–26 season, the team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the Eng ...

in August 1983. He stayed at Boundary Park for two seasons and made more than 50 league appearances for the club. After leaving Oldham in 1985, Parker had a short spell at

Doncaster Rovers Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system after winning the 202 ...

, where he played just five matches before returning to his first club, Burnley, in 1985. During his second spell at Turf Moor, Parker played 43 times in the league, scoring ten goals for the side. Along with a number of other players, he left the club in the summer of 1987 after the team had narrowly avoided relegation from the

Football League Fourth Division The Football League Fourth Division was the fourth-highest division in the English football league system from the 1958–59 season until the creation of the Premier League prior to the 1992–93 season. Following the creation of the Premier ...

with a last-day victory over

Orient The Orient is a term referring to the East in relation to Europe, traditionally comprising anything belonging to the Eastern world. It is the antonym of the term ''Occident'', which refers to the Western world. In English, it is largely a meto ...

. Unable to find a club in England, Parker joined Finnish outfit

. However, his stay in Finland was short-lived as he joined

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England, and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale. In the United Kingdom 2021 Census, 2021 Census, the town had a population of 111,261, compared to 223,773 for the wid ...

midway through the 1987–88 season. He was released when the club hit a financial crisis in December 1987 having played seven league games in that time. He had stints at

North Ferriby United North Ferriby United Association Football Club was a semi-professional football club in North Ferriby, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. At the time of their demise they were members of the Northern Premier League and played at Grange Lane. F ...

Altrincham Altrincham ( , locally ) is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, south of the River Mersey. It is southwest of Manchester, southwest of Sale, Greater Manchester, Sale and east of Warrington. At the 2021 United Kingdom ce ...

Northwich Victoria Northwich is a market town and civil parish in the Cheshire West and Chester borough of Cheshire, England. It lies on the Cheshire Plain, at the confluence of the rivers River Weaver, Weaver and River Dane, Dane, east of Chester, south of Warr ...

and

Frickley Athletic Frickley Athletic Football Club is a football club based in South Elmsall, West Yorkshire, England. They are members of the and play at Westfield Lane. History The club was formed on 30 July 1908, and became a member of the South Yorkshire Lea ...

before joining Hyde United in 1991. He played three league matches and scored one goal for the club, before leaving to sign for

Bishop Auckland Bishop Auckland ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish at the confluence of the River Wear and the River Gaunless in County Durham, England. It is northwest of Darlington and southwest of Durham, England, Durham. M ...

. After quitting Bishop Auckland, Parker had spells at Irlam Town and

Ossett Town Ossett Town Association Football Club was an English football club based in Ossett in West Yorkshire. History Ossett Town AFC were formed in 1936 when, during a public meeting, the Mayor of the Borough of Ossett charged John Carter, a former ...

before retiring from the game and moving back to live in Barnsley. He now provides commentary on Barnsley games for local radio

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Parker, Derrick 1957 births Living people Footballers from Wallsend English men's footballers Men's association football forwards Burnley F.C. players Southend United F.C. players Barnsley F.C. players Oldham Athletic A.F.C. players Doncaster Rovers F.C. players FC Haka players Rochdale A.F.C. players North Ferriby United A.F.C. players Altrincham F.C. players Northwich Victoria F.C. players Frickley Athletic F.C. players Hyde United F.C. players Bishop Auckland F.C. players Ossett Town A.F.C. players English Football League players Wallsend Boys Club players