James Parker (football player)

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James "Quick" Parker, born January 1, 1958, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was a star defensive player in the Canadian Football League.

After attending Wake Forest University from 1976 to 1979, where he was a conference all star and second in all time career sacks with 15.

Parker joined the Edmonton Eskimos in 1980, right in the middle of the greatest dynasty in CFL history. He would play with them for 4 years, until 1983, when he moved to the B.C. Lions for 6 seasons (from 1984 to 1989) and finished his 12 year career with the Toronto Argonauts (1990 to 1991.)

Though small, Parker was famed for his quick burst off the line of scrimmage. He would win the CFL's Most Outstanding Defensive Player Award three times (1982, 1984, 1986) and was an all star 6 times. He would play in 5 Grey Cup games, winning 4 championships. During 1984 season, his first with the B.C. Lions, he had 26.5 sacks in a single season which is still an CFL record. Parker remains 3rd in the league for most quarterback sacks, all-time regular season, with 139.5.

AWARDS and HONOURS:

CFL All Star Team - 1981, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1986

Western All Star (Outside Linebacker, Defensive End) - 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986

Schenley Most Outstanding Defensive Player - 1982, 1984, 1986

Grey Cup Defensive Player of the Game - 1985

Norm Fieldgate Trophy (Most Outstanding Defensive Player in the Western Division) - 1982, 1984, 1986

Grey Cup Participation - 1980, 1981, 1982, 1985, 1988

Grey Cup Winning Teams - 1980, 1981, 1982, 1985

Parker was inducted into the Wake Forest University's Sports Hall of Fame in 1997 and the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 2001.