Dave Parker did not make it to have his day in Cooperstown, dying from Parkinson’s disease on June 28, exactly one month before the Baseball Hall of Fame was set to induct the Cobra along with four other players.
Yet Parker, who was 74, seemed to sense this day was coming, and penned a poem that his son, David Parker II, read to the assembled throng at Cooperstown July 28.
It was equal parts defiant and reflective, braggadocious and appreciative and, for Pittsburgh, a balm. Parker played 19 major league seasons, the first 11 with the Pirates, helping them win the 1979 World Series. He went on to the Cincinnati Reds, won another title in Oakland and finished with one season in Milwaukee.
Yet Parker proclaimed ‘I’m a Pirate for life…the Bucs on my heart.’
Dave Parker poem
Here’s the full text of his son’s reading:
Here I am, 39.
About damn time.
I know I had to wait a little,
but that’s what you do with fine aged wine.
I’m a Pirate for life.
Wouldn’t have it no other way.
That was my family,
even though I didn’t go on Parade Day.
I love y’all, the Bucs on my heart
because those two championships I got,
y’all played in the first part.
I’m in the Hall now,
you can’t take that away.
That statue better look good —
you know I got a pretty face.
Top-tier athlete,
fashion icon,
sex symbol.
No reason to list the rest of my credentials.
I’m him, period.
The Cobra.
Known for my rocket arm,
and I will run any catcher over.
To my friends, families: I love y’all.
Thanks for staying by my side.
I told y’all Cooperstown would be my last ride.’’
Dave Parker induction
Parker hit 339 home runs and was a seven-time All-Star. He failed to garner the required 75% support on ballots submitted by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, peaking at 24.5% in 1998. He also failed to earn any votes in his first two appearances on a veteran’s committee ballot in 2014 and 2018, but earned 43.8% in 2020 and was named on 14 of 16 ballots in December 2024, enough for enshrinement.