#27

 

JIM PARKER

Jim Parker was one of the main reasons Johnny Unitas was able to become the greatest quarterback of his time. He was also one of the reasons that Lenny Moore became one of the most versatile running backs in the history of the game.

Parker came to the Baltimore Colts out of Ohio State as a magnificent run blocker but he did not know a lot about pass blocking. It didn’t take him long to learn what his job was all about. “Weeb Ewbank pulled me aside and he pointed at Johnny,” Parker recalled after he was named to the NFL’s All-Century team. “‘That’s the man you have to protect. He has to stay on his feet and we don’t want him hit.’

“I told him that I knew that already. He looked at me and said, ‘Good, we shouldn’t have any problems.’”

Parker knew his priority and he became one of the finest pass blockers the game had ever seen. Fueling his desire to protect Unitas and keep him from getting hurt was a genuine affection for the quarterback. “Here’s the interesting thing,” Parker said. “From the moment I got to Baltimore and met John Unitas, I could tell he was something special. I’m not talking about as a quarterback. That was pretty obvious from everything I saw on the practice field. But as a person. He was so genuine and so tough. He could take the most hellacious shot and get up and throw it 40 yards on a line. He gave it his all and that’s the kind of person he was. He was a great person and a great teammate. You feel that way about somebody and you don’t want anything to happen to him—especially on your watch.”

Parker was the most versatile of blockers. He played for 11 years in Baltimore and was named to the All-Pro team eight times. He made it at guard four times and at tackle four other times. Parker was the biggest man the Colts had ever drafted when he was selected with the eighth overall pick in 1957. He stood 6-foot-3 and weighed 273 pounds—nearly unheard of size at that time. He had played on both lines at Ohio State and many pro scouts felt that Parker was better suited to defense. But Ewbank saw Parker’s quick feet, his strong hands, and his overall awareness made him better suited to become a great blocker.

“It was all about protecting John and opening holes for Lenny,” Parker recalled. “I knew if I could do those things that my time in Baltimore would work out fairly well.”

Parker started out at tackle because he was big, strong, and fast enough to handle the best pass rushers in the game. Later on his career, Ewbank saw that Parker might be an even better guard because he had become such a great technician. He switched Parker to guard midway through the 1962 season and at the end of the year, he was named an All-Pro at both positions. He was named to the All-Pro team at guard from 1963 through 1965 as well.

There was no wasted movement or energy with Parker. Everything was done to keep the pass rusher out of the backfield or open a bigger running lane. He used his body to slam defensive linemen to the ground and to shield the skill-position players.

“He would never miss an opportunity to drive somebody into the ground,” said former Colts center Buzz Nutter. “He really seemed to get real delight in getting a chance to run over some linebacker or defensive lineman. If he had a chance to take a step before he hit somebody it was no contest.”

Parker was a dominant player for Woody Hayes at Ohio State and quickly adjusted to the NFL. He loved his job and he quickly set an overpowering goal for himself. “I didn’t tell anyone but I knew I wanted to be known as the best blocker that ever played the game,” Parker explained. “It was nothing I ever talked about when I was playing. To say something like that in public would not have been very smart. But once I got to the end of my career I could talk about it. I gave it everything I had.”

Parker’s ability was evident to his teammates from his first training camp in 1957. The Colts knew they had a team that had plenty of talent and had a chance to become contenders. But there was a certain lack of physical play that had kept them from becoming an elite team

“We were a good team and we knew we should be better,” said former Colts receiver Raymond Berry. “But we were missing that guy who could help us when we had to go up against a big, tough, physical guy. For example, when we played the Bears, a guy like Doug Atkins would kill us. We couldn’t handle him and there were a few others like that. But it all changed when Jim came here.”

Once Parker was inserted at tackle, Atkins and other pass rushers were no longer factors. Atkins grew frustrated by Parker’s consistency and tried to get under his skin by cursing at him. “I tried to get him off his game and nothing ever worked,” Atkins said. “There were a few times I was able to hit him when I was running at full speed . . . and I couldn’t even budge him. That’s how strong he was and that’s how tough he was.”

Parker came up with one of his best performances in the Colts’ 1958 NFL championship game against the New York Giants. The game would go on to be considered the greatest of all-time and Parker had to face Giants All-Pro defensive end Andy Robustelli. The Giants defense was dominant and Robustelli beat Parker on a couple of plays in the first quarter. However, that was it. Parker handled Robustelli the rest of the game.

Robustelli called Parker the “best offensive tackle I ever played against.”

It was a label that many of the league’s best defensive linemen concurred with during the late 1950s and 1960s.