CINCINNATI — Dave Parker has earned baseball immortality in Cooperstown.
The Cincinnati native former Reds star was elected Sunday night to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. The former outfielder was elected through the Classic Baseball Era Committee ballot.
The Classic Baseball Era Committee met Sunday at Major League Baseball’s Winter Meetings in Dallas for consideration for hall of fame election for the Class of 2025. They also elected
Seven players and one manager comprised the eight-name Classic Baseball Era Committee ballot, which featured player, manager, umpire and executive candidates whose primary contribution to the game came prior to 1980.
The Classic Baseball Era ballot included Dick Allen, Ken Boyer, John Donaldson, Steve Garvey, Vic Harris, Tommy John, Parker and Luis Tiant. Among the candidates, Garvey, John and Parker are living.
Of the candidates, Allen was also elected into the hall of fame by the committee. Allen, who passed away in 2020, played 15 seasons for the Phillies, Cardinals, Dodgers, White Sox and Athletics. He won the 1964 National League Rookie of the Year Award with the Phillies, and he also was named the 1972 American League MVP with the White Sox.
Parker, a 1970 Courter Tech High School graduate, was one of eight finalists considered on the ballot.
Parker hit .290 over a 19-year major-league career. He hit 339 home runs and won two batting titles. The 1978 National League Most Valuable Player was named to seven Major League Baseball All-Star games. He won three Gold Glove Awards in right field.
Parker played for the Reds from 1984 to 1987 and was a two-time all-star. He was inducted into the Reds Hall of Fame in 2014.
Parker, a 2012 inductee of the Cincinnati Public Schools Athletics Hall of Fame, lived on Borden Street during his childhood. In 2023, Parker had a street named after him in South Cumminsville.
Footballwas Parker's first love. If he hadn’t torn up his knee, he may have taken a football scholarship to Ohio State instead of signing with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He was drafted in the 14th round by the Pirates in 1970.
Parker is also a 1978 Buddy LaRosa’s High School Sports Hall of Fame inductee.
Hall of Fame Weekend 2025 will take place July 25-28 in Cooperstown. The Class of 2025 will be inducted at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, July 27 at the Clark Sports Center.
The remaining Class of 2025 inductees will be announced on Jan. 21 by the Baseball Writers' Association of America.
