Tony Parrish
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Anthony W. Parrish (born November 23, 1975) is an American former 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 ...
player who was a
safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...
for nine seasons 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 played
college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...
for the
Washington Huskies The Washington Huskies are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Washington, located in Seattle. The school competes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) N ...
and was selected by the
Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...
in the second round of the 1998 NFL draft with the 35th overall pick. He was an
Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...
All-Pro in 2003, and is listed on th
49ers' All-2000s team
Parrish was also a member of 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 ...
,
Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...
, and
Las Vegas Locomotives The Las Vegas Locomotives (called the Locos for short) were a professional American football team based in Las Vegas Valley, Las Vegas, Nevada that played in the United Football League (2009–2012), United Football League. The team played their ...
.


Early life

Parrish grew up in
Huntington Beach, California Huntington Beach is a seaside city in Orange County, California, United States. The city was originally called Pacific City, but it was changed in 1903 to be named after American businessman Henry E. Huntington. The population was 198,711 as of ...
with a love for
soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...
and played for the North Huntington Beach Soccer Club (The Pirates). Parrish's team won 3
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
State titles and a National Championship. Parrish starred in multiple sports at
Marina High School (Huntington Beach, California) Marina High School is a public high school located in the northwest corner of Huntington Beach, California which first began operating in 1963. Marina is part of the Huntington Beach Union High School District, which includes several other area ...
, including
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
,
baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...
,
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 ...
, and
track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...
. Parrish was a two-time California state
triple jump The triple jump, sometimes referred to as the hop, step and jump or the hop, skip and jump, is a track and field event, similar to long jump. As a group, the two events are referred to as the "horizontal jumps". The competitor runs down the tr ...
champion with a personal best of 50 – 11.75 inches. He was named the 1993 Orange County Track Athlete of the Year. As a football player, Parrish was first team All-County as a safety, and also played tailback his senior year, totaling 415 yards and eight
touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...
s. Parrish was recruited to play at the University of Washington after his high school coach brought his highlight tape to a Husky Rose Bowl practice at a community college just a few miles from his high school.


College career

Parrish attended the
University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...
, where he played for the
Washington Huskies football The Washington Huskies football team represents the University of Washington in college football. Washington competed in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) as a member of the Big Ten Conference, after having been a charter membe ...
team from 1993 to 1997 in the
Pacific-10 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I level for all sports, and its Co ...
and majored in
psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...
. He
redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...
as a true freshman, and then went on to record 21 tackles and two interceptions during his first year of playing. As a sophomore and freshman, Parrish started a combined eight games at strong safety. He then went on to start every game as a junior at free safety. Parrish was named first-team All-PAC-10, recording 71 tackles, along with two forced fumbles, four fumble recoveries, eight passes defended, and two interceptions. As a senior, Parrish was named a team captain and led the huskies to an 8–4 record; he was also second-team All-Pac-10 and a semifinalist for the Jim Thorpe Award. He recorded 81 tackles, six interceptions (team-leading), four passes defended, two forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, and two touchdowns. In the Aloha Bowl that year, the Huskies beat Michigan State 51–23, a game that included Parrish returning an interception 56 yards for a touchdown. While Parrish played for the University of Washington, the Huskies recorded a 31-15 overall record, along with a 22–9–1 record in the Pacific-10 Conference. From 1994 to 1997, Parrish played in 46 of the 47 games he was eligible to play in during his career at the University of Washington. Parrish lettered twice in track and field for the University of Washington, competing in the triple jump, 55-meter dash, 100-meter dash, and in the
4 × 100 metres relay The 4 × 100 metres relay or sprint relay is an athletics track event run in lanes over one lap of the track with four runners completing 100 metres each. The first runners must begin in the same stagger as for the indiv ...
. On October 10, 2009, Parrish was named
Husky Legend
a prestigious group that recognizes significant contributions to the husky football program.


Professional career


Chicago Bears

Parrish was selected by the
Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...
with the fifth pick of the second round (35th overall) in the 1998 NFL draft. Parrish started week one at free safety against the
Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...
and recorded a team-leading 14 tackles, three forced fumbles, and a recovered fumble. Parrish went on to start every game his rookie year, tallying 111 tackles, a sack, an interception and five forced fumbles. His rookie year, Parrish was named to the
Pro Football Weekly ''Pro Football Weekly'' (sometimes shortened to ''PFW'') is an American sports magazine, founded in 1967, and website that covers the National Football League (NFL). It was owned by Pro Football Weekly LLC and headquartered in Riverwoods, Illin ...
1998 All-Rookie team. Following his rookie year, Parrish was also voted by his teammates as the recipient of the Brian Piccolo Award as a testament to his character. In 1999, the Chicago Bears moved Parrish from free safety to strong safety where he started all 16 games. He improved during his second year in the NFL, recording a career-high 124 tackles, which was second on the team. In week 11 of the 2000 NFL season, Parrish returned an interception for a touchdown against the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...
in the second quarter, which eventually secured a win for the Bears with a final score of 13–10. In 2000 and 2001, he had three interceptions each year, starting every game each year at strong safety. In 2001, Tony's last year with the Bears, he paired with Mike Brown (free safety) to be one of the leading safety duos in the NFL. In 2001, he helped lead the bears' defense in giving up the fewest points in the NFL. The Bears finished as Champions of the
NFC Central The National Football Conference – Northern Division or NFC North is one of the four Division (sport), divisions of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL). Nicknamed the "Black and Blue Division" for t ...
with a 13-3 regular season record. While with the Bears, Parrish was best known for providing solid run support and for his big hits on receivers over the middle of the field. Parrish recorded four 14- tackle games with the Bears and was the first Bear since Mike Singletary (1980) to record 100 tackles in each of his first three seasons.


San Francisco 49ers

Parrish signed with 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 ...
on a five-year deal following the
2001 NFL season The 2001 NFL season was the 82nd regular season of the National Football League (NFL), and the first season of the 21st century. The league permanently moved the first week of the regular season to the weekend following Labor Day. In the wake o ...
. Prior to the 49ers April minicamp, Parrish has his right testicle removed in an operation after discovering a tumor in an exam on a nagging groin injury. In his first season with the 49ers, Parrish recorded seven interceptions. Parrish's most notable game in 2002 with the 49ers was in week 14 against the Dallas Cowboys, when Parrish recorded two interceptions with a bulky arm brace because he was playing with a recently dislocated elbow. Parrish received NFC Defensive Player of the Week for his game against Dallas that helped secure a victory. 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 ...
went on to win the
NFC West The National Football Conference – Western Division or NFC West is one of the four Division (sport), divisions of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL). It currently has four members: the Arizona Card ...
in Parrish's first year with a 10–6 overall record. In Parrish's first year with the 49ers, he started every game at safety while tallying up a team-leading 7 interceptions, one forced fumble, two fumble recoveries, and 71 tackles. Parrish received the Ed Block Courage Award in 2002 for representing courage and leadership in the face of adversity, and in Parrish's case was based on his performance that excelled regardless of the many injuries that he sustained throughout the season. Along with the Ed Block Courage Award, Parrish received multiple awards for his role with the 49ers in 2002 on and off the field:
Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...
All-Pro, Football Digest All-Pro, and the Len Eshmont Award from the 49ers organization (where he was the first 49er to win the award in his inaugural season with the franchise). Parrish continued his success with the 49ers in 2003 by starting every game for the 49ers and anchoring their defense. Parrish produced another two-interception game in 2003 in week 16 against the
Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...
that led to him being named NFC Defensive Player of the Week. Parrish also had five consecutive games with an interception in 2003 (November 17 to December 4), which is the second longest streak for consecutive games with an interception in 49ers history. Parrish tallied an NFL-leading nine interceptions in 2003 as well as 78 combined tackles and a forced fumble. Although he was surprisingly left off of the 2003
Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (since 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's All-star, star players. The format has changed ...
squad, he was named an
Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...
All-Pro All-Pro is an honor bestowed upon professional American football players that designates the best player at each position during a given season. All-Pro players are typically selected by press organizations, who select an "All-Pro team," a list t ...
and also named to the All-NFC team by
Pro Football Weekly ''Pro Football Weekly'' (sometimes shortened to ''PFW'') is an American sports magazine, founded in 1967, and website that covers the National Football League (NFL). It was owned by Pro Football Weekly LLC and headquartered in Riverwoods, Illin ...
. Parrish had another successful season in 2004, recording 87 combined tackles and a team-leading four interceptions. In 2005, Parrish recorded two interceptions and 44 tackles in 9 starts before fracturing his fibula and ankle against the Chicago Bears in week 9 of the 2005 NFL season. Prior to his injury, Parrish had two more two-interception games, one against the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...
in 2004 and one against the Dallas Cowboys in 2005. He led the NFL in total interceptions from 2001 to 2005, with 25. Tony returned to the 49ers before the start of the 2006 season in a starting role, but was released after their ninth game on December 5. Prior to his injury, Parrish started 57 straight games for the 49ers at safety and had started 121 straight games in his NFL career, the longest starting streak at the time since Herman Edwards (135). Parrish has the seventh most interceptions of all time for the 49ers (22), the fourth most interception return yards in 49ers history (504), and also has the second most interceptions recorded in a single season in 49ers history with nine. Parrish now has some of his memorabilia from his time with the 49ers on display at Levi's Stadium, and is listed on th
San Francisco 49ers All-2000s team
for his contributions to the team from 2002 to 2006.


Dallas Cowboys

Following his release from the 49ers in 2006, he was claimed off waivers by the
Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...
on December 7, to add depth to the secondary for the playoff run. He appeared in one game, while being declared inactive in 3 contests. He wasn't re-signed after the season.


Las Vegas Locomotives

After spending two years out of football to recover from numerous injuries, Parrish was signed by the
Las Vegas Locomotives The Las Vegas Locomotives (called the Locos for short) were a professional American football team based in Las Vegas Valley, Las Vegas, Nevada that played in the United Football League (2009–2012), United Football League. The team played their ...
of the United Football League on August 31, 2009, and became an instant starter and team captain. The Locomotives went on to win the UFL championship in 2009.


NFL statistics


Personal life

Parrish partnered with fellow Chicago defensive backs and Meals on Wheels to support the ‘Intercept Hunger’ program, be providing meal donations for the needy funded by participating players’ performances during each game. In addition, Parrish supported the Chicago-area
Special Olympics Special Olympics is the world's largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, providing year-round training and activities to 5 million participants and Unified Sports partners in 172 countries. Special Ol ...
program for children and youth with special needs. Parrish was also a lead spokesman and ‘face’ of the “Bear Down’ program, aimed at curbing underage liquor sales and alcohol consumption for the Illinois State Liquor Control Board. Parrish partnered with Lura Lynn Ryan, wife of then Governor George Ryan and together they raised public awareness of the effort to help keep young people from following the wrong path. While with the San Francisco 49ers, Parrish volunteered and helped manage the "49ers Reading Team", which promotes the benefits of reading to children throughout the Bay Area. Upon receiving the Ed Block award in his 1st season with the 49ers, Parrish became active with a ‘Courage House’ in San Francisco. These houses are orphanages for children of all backgrounds, and Parrish spent considerable time visiting with the young people. Parrish also spent time at the University of California San Francisco Children's Hospital where he consistently met with patients and their families. He created the ‘Tuesday with Tony’ weekly event where he would interact with ailing teenagers. Currently, Parrish is very active in the Right to Play organization as an 'Athlete Ambassador’. ‘Right to Play’ has brought the concept and benefits of team sports to over a million children around the world on a weekly basis. Parrish also volunteers for Armed Forces Entertainment and Pro Tour Production organizations, and travels abroad to visit US military personnel. He has visited over a dozen military bases in 5 counties to-date including
Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...
,
Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...
,
Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
, and
Djibouti Djibouti, officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country in the Horn of Africa, bordered by Somalia to the south, Ethiopia to the southwest, Eritrea in the north, and the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden to the east. The country has an area ...
(Africa).


See also

* Washington Huskies football statistical leaders


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parrish, Tony 1975 births Living people Players of American football from Los Angeles American football safeties Washington Huskies football players Chicago Bears players San Francisco 49ers players Dallas Cowboys players Las Vegas Locomotives players Brian Piccolo Award winners