Eugene Parker (sports agent)

Eugene Parker
Personal information
Born(1956-02-24)February 24, 1956
Fort Wayne, Indiana
DiedMarch 31, 2016(2016-03-31) (aged 60)
Fort Wayne, Indiana
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Listed weight175 lb (79 kg)
Career information
High schoolConcordia Lutheran[1]
(Fort Wayne, Indiana)
CollegePurdue (1974–1978)
NBA draft1978: 5th round, 108th overall pick
Selected by the San Antonio Spurs
PositionForward
Career highlights and awards
  • Second-team All-Big Ten – Media (1976)
  • Third-team All-Big Ten – Coaches (1976)
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata

Eugene E. Parker (February 24, 1956 – March 31, 2016[2]) was an American sports agent, known for representing Deion Sanders, Emmitt Smith, and many other NFL athletes. Parker was named by Black Enterprise Magazine as one of the top 50 influential black people in sports, and was ranked 45th in the Sports Illustrated list of the top 101 most influential minorities in sports.[3] For many, Parker was known to be the first African-American lawyer to pioneer into sports representation and went on to become one of the great American sports agents.[4] Parker, known for his integrity, is the only sports agent with an official road named in his memorial. [5]

  1. ^ "Eugene Parker". Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
  2. ^ "Prominent football agent Eugene Parker dies of cancer at 60". ESPN. April 1, 2016. Retrieved April 1, 2016.
  3. ^ "New World Order: After years of battling for fair opportunities, people of color are finally running the show (in some places) and driving the economics in sports". Sports Illustrated. 2003-05-03. Archived from the original on May 4, 2003. Retrieved 2007-04-16.
  4. ^ "Parker, Eugene 1956-2016". 23 June 2016.
  5. ^ "Roadway Named in Legendary Eugene Parker's Honor". 31 March 2017.