James "Quick" Parker was born on January 1, 1958, in Philadelphia, PA.  After attending Ben Franklin High School, he entered Wake Forest University where he was an All-Conference All-American in his senior year.

Parker joined the CFL with the Edmonton Eskimos in 1980 as a defensive end and went straight to the Grey Cup his first season.  He led the League in sacks in 1981 and 1982 and was named to the Western and CFL All-Star teams both years.  He remained with the Eskimos until the 1984 season when he moved to the B.C. Lions and in that same year became the League leader with an average of 26.5 sacks in a single season which is still an all-time record in the CFL today.  These contributions gained him Western and CFL All-Star accolades once again for three seasons 1984, 1985 and 1986.  Parker finished his CFL career as a member of the Toronto Argonauts where he played the 1990 season and one game in the 1991 season.

Parker remains 3rd in the league for most regular season quarterback sacks, all-time, with 139.5.  There is no doubt that, in the words of Roy Shivers, James "Quick" Parker was, "A player's player, a coach's dream, a League ambassador...a Hall of Fame must!"

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