I had a wonderful Where are they Now? interview with John Parker in 2001 for Jayhawk Insider, co-captain of the great 1956-57 KU team. He was the point guard and leader, and got all his teammates into their sets.
Parker achieved his lifetime dream of playing for KU and coach Phog Allen and then Dick Harp his senior season. At the time of our interview, Parker was battling multiple sclerosis and couldn’t walk. He was noticeably frustrated by this, but reveling this night about watching his beloved Jayhawks on TV after our interview.
Sadly, Parker passed in March 2005.
Dr. Ken Johnson, an author and KU graduate, wrote a tribute to Parker on hoopzone.net after Parker died.
"John Parker, former starting point guard on Kansas’ 1956-57 squad, recently died of multiple sclerosis at age 70. As a sophomore at Topeka High in ’57, I had the opportunity to see Parker in action, gaining admiration for his determination, leadership and dignity on and off the court. Parker, along with future KU teammate Gene Elstun, led his Shawnee-Mission North team to the 1953 state basketball championship.
"Recruited by Phog Allen, 6’0 Parker was a three-year part-time starter and letterman on the 55-57 teams. He wasn’t flashy and didn’t pile up big numbers (his career scoring average was 4.8ppg), but he provided steady leadership to the Wilt Chamberlain-led Jayhawks in ’57, directing the Jayhawks all the way to the NCAA championship game against North Carolina; a game that many feel was the best NCAA final game ever.
"While at KU, Parker also was an accomplished javelin thrower for the Jayhawks’ track squad. He also helped pave the way for racial integration at KU, confronting the adversity faced by teammates Maurice King and Wilt Chamberlain, the first two black starters in what was then the Big Seven conference.
"In Max Falkenstein’s book, Max and the Jayhawks, Parker reported on the racial tensions KU faced that year. 'Wilt and his brash talent came along, and racial tensions, particularly in the traditionally southern states like Missouri and Oklahoma, escalated. Officials would often ignore blatant fouls committed against black players, and opposing schools waved Confederate flags and played “Dixie.”
"Parker further reported that 'None of us could have imagined the atmosphere awaiting the team at the 1957 Midwest Regionals. The tournament hotel refused to accommodate blacks, so we stayed at a dingy motel miles away. No restaurant would serve us, so we took all our meals together in a private room. Our first game was against our hosts, the fifth-ranked and all-white SMU Mustangs. SMU was undefeated in its new fieldhouse, an it was easy to see why. Their crowd was brutal. We were spat upon, pelted with debris, and subjected to the vilest racial epithets imaginable. The officials did little to maintain order. There were so many uncalled fouls, each more outrageous than the last, that Maurice and Wilt risked serious injury simply by staying in the game. And, incredibly, they responded to some of the best basketball of their lives. We escaped with a 73-65 overtime win.'
"All Jayhawk basketball fans owe tribute to Parker, not only for leading one of KU’s best basketball teams ever, but for helping break the color barrier in sports."
Here is a wonderful excerpt from Robert Cherry’s 2004 book: “Wilt: Larger than Life.” It details a very positive reunion between Parker and The Big Dipper.
“One year I was on vacation in Phoenix when the Lakers were in town,” Parker told Cherry. “I called up and asked for Wilt Chamberlain. They said, ‘He’s not taking any calls.’
“I said, ‘OK, tell him John Parker called and here’s my number. Ask him to call me back.’
“And within a few minutes, Wilt called. I said, ‘Wilt, this is John. I’m down here with my wife and I wanted to know if you could give me a couple of tickets to come to the game.’
“He said, ‘I’d love to. When you get there, just ask at the ticket counter, and I’ll leave a couple of tickets for you. I want you to meet me after the game.’
“When I met Wilt after the game, he said he wanted me to meet his teammates, and he took me in the locker room. There was Jerry West and all the guys he played with. He introduced me and said, ‘This is Johnny Parker, who was captain of our 1957 team.’
“That’s the kind of guy Wilt was---a really good guy.”
Parker was inducted into the Shawnee Mission North Hall of Fame in 2014.
From his bio: "He was quarterback on the top ranked football team for two years and starting guard on the basketball team for two years as well as state champion in the javelin in 1953. He went on to play basketball at KU and was co-captain of the 1957 team that lost to North Carolina in the national championship game."
Here is my Where are they Now? story on the great John Parker.
...
John Parker grew up in Mission, Kan. dreaming of donning the crimson and blue and playing for Phog Allen. He admits he didn’t go to many home basketball games in Hoch Auditorium since “it didn’t seat many people and it was hard to get a ticket.” So Parker spent many cold winter nights at home listening to Max Falkenstien on the radio and cheering for his heroes like Charlie Hoag and Gil Reich.
After winning the state championship at Shawnee Mission North in 1953, Parker (along with high school teammate Gene Elstun) followed his dream and accepted a scholarship at Mount Oread. Although KU had won the NCAA championship in 1952 and finished runner-up in ‘53, Parker said he never envisioned playing for a national title.
This all changed when a 7-footer from Philadelphia named Wilton Chamberlain arrived on campus in 1955 and became eligible for varsity competition for the 1956-57 season.
“After we got to KU and got Wilt, we thought we could probably win every game we played, which we almost did,” said Parker, a 6-foot point guard and three-year starter. “We had some good players before Wilt came, but he made all the difference in the world.”
Indeed, he did.
A fiery leader and “savage little battler,” Parker played his sophomore and junior seasons on teams that finished fifth in the Big Seven. He entered his senior campaign as co-captain and relishing the opportunity of teaming with Chamberlain. With players like Maurice King, Elstun and Ron Loneski added to the mix, KU seemed invincible.
“Every game we played in Allen Fieldhouse was sold to capacity,” Parker said recently from his home in Kansas City. “They had standing room only. I don’t know how many they crammed in there, but I think somebody said one game they got about 18,000. Those home games were quite a scene. We never lost a game in Allen Fieldhouse.”
Kansas lost just two games all season (total of four points) before entering the NCAA Tournament Midwest Regional in Dallas, Texas. After beating host school SMU in overtime (73-65), the Jayhawks breezed past Oklahoma City to advance to the Final Four in Kansas City. KU’s victories came in a violent environment in the segregated South.
“They didn’t like Wilt or Maurice King (KU’s two African-American players),” Parker said. “They threw coins and food on the floor. The athletic director (SMU) had to come out and tell the crowd if anything else hit the floor, he was going to forfeit the game for KU. ...The fans were terrible. They cussed and spit on everybody. It was terrible the way they treated Wilt and Maurice. I’d never been around anything like that, and of course, neither had they. They kind of broke the barrier, I think. From then on, I think things got better between blacks and the people in the South.”
After the Jayhawks beat defending NCAA champion San Francisco in the Final Four, Chamberlain, Parker and company were primed for their title match with North Carolina. Parker can still vividly recall practically each segment of the game, especially the last few seconds of regulation.
“Still to this day, they called a foul on Maurice at the end of the game and I don’t think he fouled anybody,” Parker said. “They shot and I got the rebound, and the official blew his whistle and called a foul on Maurice King. He wasn't even close to anybody. I have never been able to understand that.”
North Carolina, which made a free throw to send the game into overtime, eventually won the championship (54-53) in three OT’s.
“It was a terrible way to lose the national championship,” Parker said. “I don’t feel like we lost it. I feel like we got it stolen from us.”
Parker, who admits the game haunted him for many years, moved on with his life. After getting married and receiving a business administration degree in 1957, he played five games for the new Kansas City team in the N.I.B.A. Parker then spent two years in the Army before entering the oil business in Hutchinson. In 1963, he changed professions and became involved in the restaurant industry as owner of Taco Grande. Parker was responsible for 10 franchises in central and western Kansas.
“It kept you busy and occupied, and I made a little money,” Parker said.
About two years ago, Parker was forced to retire due to multiple sclerosis (he was first diagnosed with MS in 1960).
“It just got progressively worse,” he said. “Now, I can’t walk. When you can’t walk, you need a lot of help.”
The former Jayhawk sharp-shooter finds comfort reliving his days on the Hill. Despite the bitter loss to North Carolina over 40 years ago, Parker looks back with great pride knowing the 1956-57 KU squad is generally regarded as one of the top 25 teams to ever play college basketball and told American Heritage that “our regional title in the segregated South did more for the game than any national championship has ever done.”
“I’m glad I had some small role in challenging the inequities of the day,” Parker said. “And I’m honored to have been associated with some of the bravest men ever to don a basketball uniform.”
A Closer Look at John Parker:
Years at KU: 1953-57
Career Notables: Co-Captain on 1956-57 Final Four Team...Second on team in field goal percentage in 1957 (45.5 percent)...career-high 21 points vs. K-State on March 6, 1956...Lettered in track (javelin) three years.
Family: Parker has five children and eight grandkids.
Education: 1957, B.S. Business Administration.
Since Leaving KU: Parker spent two years in the Army before moving to Hutchinson and working in the oil business. In 1963, he changed professions and worked in the restaurant industry as owner of Taco Grande until retiring two years ago.
Currently: Parker is retired and lives in Kansas City.
Hobbies: Watching sports on television...Ex golfer.
Favorite Memories: Wilt Chamberlain’s varsity debut against Northwestern on Dec. 3, 1956. “I thought that was probably the best game (school record 52 points) he played.” ... Inaugurating Allen Fieldhouse on March 1, 1955 against K-State. “We won the game. K-State was favored to win. Dedicating Allen Fieldhouse, that was quite a deal. At the time, it was the biggest fieldhouse in the United States.”
On the Jayhawks Today: “I’m really proud of Roy (Williams) because he’s carrying on the Kansas tradition. He’s got a great team this year, a team I think could make the Final Four.”
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