Ace Parker, NFL’s oldest Hall of Famer, dies at 101

Ace Parker, the only football player inducted into the NFL’s Hall of Fame to reach 100, has died at age 101. He was a star running back during the 1930s and 1940s, the days when players still wore leather helmets, and also played two seasons of Major League Baseball.

The Hall announced his death on Wednesday, reports The New York Times. According to the Virginian Pilot, he was hospitalized in October for pulmonary problems. His funeral is set for Monday in Portsmouth, Va.

Parker was one of the last remaining sports heroes from the Depression era. He was an all-American tailback during his college days at Duke, but after graduating, the legendary Philadelphia A’s coach Connie Mack drafted him. He played for the A’s in 1937 and 1938, hitting a home run in his first at-bat. However, he was also drafted by the NFL’s Brooklyn Dodgers in 1937 and he’d leave the A’s to play football in the late summer.

From 1937 to 1941, Parker was a star for the Dodgers, earning the NFL MVP award in 1940, even though he started that season with an injury from a minor league baseball game.

He left the game to serve in the Navy during the war. When he returned, he played the 1945 season with the Boston Yanks and then played in 1946 with the AAFC’s New York Yankees, notes USA Today.

In 1972, he was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame, based in Canton, Ohio. “I never expected to be selected for this, but since I have been selected, I’m sure glad it happened when I’m still around,” he said at the time.

Parker is survived by a sister. His wife died in 2009.

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