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

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

wide receiver and

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like ...

in the NFL. He was the first overall selection in the 1964 NFL Draft out of

Texas Technological College Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sy ...

(now

Texas Tech University Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sys ...

). 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 attraction devoted to college football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players and coaches of college football that were vote ...

Career

High school

Parks attended

Abilene High School (Abilene, Texas) Abilene High School is a public high school located in Abilene, Texas. AHS is classified as a Division 5A school and is part of the Abilene Independent School District. Abilene High School is the name given to three different schools in the past ...

and played for head coach

Chuck Moser Charles Hinton Moser (September 29, 1918 – May 7, 1995) was an American football coach. He was known for guiding Abilene High School to a 49-game winning streak from 1954 to 1957, which is still a Texas state record for 4A and 5A schools, tho ...

College

Parks played at the college level for the

Texas Tech Red Raiders The Texas Tech Red Raiders and Lady Raiders are the athletic teams that represent Texas Tech University, located in Lubbock, Texas. The women's basketball team uses the name Lady Raiders, while the school's other women's teams use the "Red Raider ...

from 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 included schools from Oklahoma an ...

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

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

All-American, and also earned selections from ''

Sporting News The ''Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a pr ...

'', ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

'', ''Boston Recorder-American'', ''Sports Extra'', the

American Football Coaches Association The American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) is an association of over 11,000 American football coaches and staff on all levels. According to its constitution, some of the main goals of the American Football Coaches Association are to "mainta ...

, and ''

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''. Additionally, Parks received invitations to the East West Shrine Game, the

Senior Bowl The Senior Bowl is a post-season college football all-star game played annually in late January or early February in Mobile, Alabama, which showcases the best NFL Draft prospects of those players who have completed their college eligibility. Pr ...

, and the

Coaches All-America Game The Coaches All-America Game was a postseason college football all-star game that served as the concluding game of the college football season, held from 1961 to 1976. The all-star game was sponsored by the American Football Coaches Association (A ...

. 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 game versus

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

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 Emil Joseph Holub (January 5, 1938 – September 21, 2019) was an American football Center (American football), center and linebacker in the American Football League (AFL) and the National Football League (NFL) for the Kansas City Chiefs, Dallas ...

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

Gabe Rivera Gabriel Rivera (April 7, 1961 – July 16, 2018), nicknamed "Señor Sack", was an American football nose tackle in the National Football League (NFL). Rivera played college football for Texas Tech where he earned All-American honors in 1982. ...

, and

Zach Thomas Zachary Michael Thomas (born September 1, 1973) is an American former professional football player who was a middle linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons. He played college football for Texas Tech University, and was ...

. 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 and Cody Campbell Field, previously known as Clifford B. and Audrey Jones Stadium, Jones SBC Stadium and Jones AT&T Stadium, is an outdoor athletic stadium in the southwestern United States, located on the campus of Texas Tec ...

, 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 Hubert Edwin "Hub" Bechtol (April 20, 1926 – October 22, 2004) was a college football player for the Texas Tech Red Raiders and the Texas Longhorns. He was a 3 Time All-American at The University of Texas at Austin in 1944, 1945, and 1946. He ...

E. J. Holub Emil Joseph Holub (January 5, 1938 – September 21, 2019) was an American football center and linebacker in the American Football League (AFL) and the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Texans/Kansas City Chiefs. He played college ...

, and

Gabriel Rivera Gabriel Rivera (April 7, 1961 – July 16, 2018), nicknamed "Señor Sack", was an American football nose tackle in the National Football League (NFL). Rivera played college football for Texas Tech where he earned All-American honors in 1982. ...

. Parks was also inducted into the

Texas Sports Hall of Fame The Texas Sports Hall of Fame recognizes athletes, coaches, and administrators who have made "lasting fame and honor to Texas sports". It was established in 1951 by the Texas Sports Writers Association. Once it made its first induction (baseball ...

in 2012.

NFL

Parks was the first overall selection of the 1964 NFL Draft by the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-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 of the league's National ...

. He was one of only three people to be drafted No. 1 as a wide receiver, alongside

Irving Fryar Irving Dale Fryar, Sr. (born September 28, 1962) is a former American college and professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for seventeen seasons. Fryar played college football for the Universit ...

in 1984 and

Keyshawn Johnson Joseph Keyshawn Johnson (born July 22, 1972) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for eleven seasons. He played college football for the University of Southern Calif ...

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 and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...

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, Parks, achieved the receiving triple crown, leading the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

in receptions with 80, receiving yards with 1,344, and receiving touchdowns with 12. For his performance, Parks was selected to the 1965 Pro Bowl and was named to the 1965 All-Pro Team. Parks was named to the 1966 All-Pro Team and went on to attend the 1966 Pro Bowl and the 1967 Pro Bowl. Following the 1967 season, Parks utilized his option and left San Francisco for 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 league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

, where he spent five seasons. 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.

Personal life

He lived in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

, 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 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 National Football League first-overall 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