Derek Parker (23 June 1926 – 8 April 2011) was an English

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 le ...

who played in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

for

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

and

Colchester United Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1937, the club spent its earl ...

. He played as an

inside-forward Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

, but later switched to half-back. Parker joined

from

Grays Athletic Grays Athletic Football Club is a football club based in Grays, Essex, England. They are currently members of the and play at Parkside in nearby Aveley. History The club was established as Grays Juniors in 1890, before merging with former S ...

in October 1944. He made a total of 199 League appearances for the east London club between 1946 and 1957. He also made eight

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

appearances, and over 200

Football Combination The Football Combination was a football competition for the reserve teams of English Football League clubs from Southern England, the Midlands and Wales; other clubs from the Midlands and those from the North playing in the Central League (it is n ...

appearances with the

reserve team In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players under contract to a club but who do not normally play in matches for the first team. Reserve teams often include back-up players from the first team, young players who need playing time to i ...

. In 1951, Parker was part of the FA XI squad that travelled to Australia. He was signed by

, then managed by

Benny Fenton Benjamin Robert Vincent Fenton (28 October 1918 – 29 July 2000) was an English professional association football, football player and manager. He played for West Ham United F.C., West Ham United, Millwall F.C., Millwall, Charlton Athletic F.C. ...

(brother of Hammers manager

Ted TED may refer to: Economics and finance * TED spread between U.S. Treasuries and Eurodollar Education * ''Türk Eğitim Derneği'', the Turkish Education Association ** TED Ankara College Foundation Schools, Turkey ** Transvaal Education Depa ...

) on 15 March 1957. He went on to make 130 League appearances for the club, and became club

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

, leaving in March 1961. Parker thereafter joined Stowmarket Town as

player-manager A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the sq ...

and switched to full-back. The appointment coincided with the club's return to amateur status. He remained at the club until 1969, when he left for Coggeshall Town. He led that club to a

Border League The Border League, is the oldest established rugby union league in the World, having been formed in 1901. Currently known as the Booker Border League, after its sponsors, teams from all over the Scottish Borders as well as Berwick RFC from Nor ...

and Cup double in 1969–70, and the Essex Intermediate Cup in 1970–71 (beating Great Wakering Rovers in the Final). Parker died in April 2011.

Notes

References

External links

Derek Parker
at westhamstats.info * 1926 births 2011 deaths People from Wivenhoe English footballers Grays Athletic F.C. players West Ham United F.C. players Colchester United F.C. players Association football defenders Stowmarket Town F.C. players Stowmarket Town F.C. managers Coggeshall Town F.C. managers Association football midfielders English Football League players English football managers {{England-footy-midfielder-1920s-stub