Jim Parker: 1959 Topps Football
Player: Jim Parker
Card: 1959 Topps Card #132
Team/Position: Baltimore Colts / Guard & Tackle
Cost: $4.50
After dealing with Jim Brown’s 1958 Rookie Card just the other day, it’s Jim Parker that shows up in my mailbox today. As I said, the 1959 edition of Topps Football is absolutely gorgeous and this card’s in pretty good condition. There’s a small unbroken crease that’s barely visible and most, if not all, of the gloss is still on the card.
So what does Jim Parker have to do with Jim Brown? Parker was selected two picks after Brown as the 8th overall selection in the 1957 Draft. The ’57 draft churned out HOFer (Hornung) after HOFer (Dawson) after HOFer (Brown) after HOFer (Parker) in just the first round! Five others from the ’57 class also made the Hall of Fame.
Parker is the second Ohio State offensive linemen included and he comes with the same accolades. Parker and Pace both won the Outland Trophy for Best Offensive Lineman and both finished top-10 in Heisman voting. Orlando Pace was the winner of the Jim Parker Award; an award presented by the Touchdown Club of Columbus for the best offensive lineman, obviously named after Parker, himself.
At Ohio State, Parker was a bad-ass interior lineman on both sides of the ball. Woody Hayes successfully used Parker’s power to run the ball directly at opponents in his patented “3-yards and a cloud of dust” style.
After Parker was drafted by Baltimore, he was moved to tackle and asked to keep Johnny Unitas upright. Parker was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame on the first ballot as the first true offensive lineman in 1977. In his 11 seasons, Parker accumulated 8 Pro Bowl Selections, 10 All Pro Selections, and 2 Championships.
What Made Parker Special?
Parker’s ability to dominate the Tackle position after having very little experience in pass-blocking at OSU is impressive. Very rarely do you see offensive linemen switch positions halfway through their career without missing a beat. Parker handled the ends just as well as the tackles.
Parker’s versatility lends itself to many referring to him as the best offensive lineman of all time. Very few linemen had the mix of speed, quickness and power, that Parker had.
Football has never really lent itself to statistics, and that’s why players are still judged on the number of championships they’ve won. Football’s still without a statistic to adequately define All-Pro offensive lineman play and thus, the “Eyeball Test” is almost always used.
Jim Parker obviously passes this test.
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