The great champion of the pirates and the World Cup champion Dave Parker dies, the team announces
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Dave Parker, one of the most beloved figures in the history of Pittsburgh pirates, has died, the MLB franchise confirmed on Saturday. He was 74 years old.
Parker, who was also affectionately known as “The Cobra”, was appointed for seven MLB All-Star teams. He accumulated more than 2,700 hits and hit 339 homers during his major league career.
He received MVP honors from the National League for his outstanding 1978 season.
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The former right gardener of Pittsburgh Pirates and the MVP of 1978 Dave Parker during a ceremony in honor of the 1979 World Series team before the Pirates welcomed the Atlanta Braves in PNC Park in Pittsburgh on May 25, 2024. (Charles Leclaire/USA Today Sports)
While he is better known for his mandate with the pirates, Parker also had periods with the Cincinnati Reds, the Athletics, the Milwaukee Brewers and two other MLB clubs.
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Parker died less than two months before he was scheduled to be consecrated in the Hall of Fame and the National Baseball Museum in Cooperstown, New York.
Dave Parker of the 1979 world champion Pittsburgh Pirates before a game between the pirates and the Baltimore Orioles in PNC Park on May 21, 2014 in Pittsburgh. (Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)
A moment of silence took place in the match at the Pirates’ house against the New York Mets on Saturday.
New York Mets manager, Carlos Mendoza, pauses for a moment of silence to honor the former right gardener of the Pittsburgh Hall of Fame, Dave Parker, before a match against the pirates in PNC Park in Pittsburgh on June 28, 2025. (Charles Leclaire/images imagn)
Parker was a key piece of the winning team of the 1979 World Series of the Pirates. He was also a member of the World Athletics Series Championship team 1989.
The pirates honored their former star, saying that the news of Parker’s death left them “disconsolate.”
Ricky Cobb of Outkick, presenter of “The Ricky Cobb Show”, took his feed from Super 70s X to share his thoughts about the loss of Parker.
“It saddens me that I am not physically there to be consecrated in Cooperstown in less than a month. But I am happy that it has finally spent safely in the knowledge that it will always reside among the baseball immortals. Have its lightest, San Pedro, because smoking one with the Cobra will be a privilege. #Rip,” the publication concluded.
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Parker became public with the diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease in 2013.
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Chantz Martin is a News Digital sports writer.