Buddy Parker

Who was Buddy Parker?

Raymond "Buddy" Parker is a former football player and coach in the National Football League who served as head coach for three teams: the Chicago Cardinals, the Detroit Lions and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Parker grew up in Kemp, Texas, just outside of Dallas, and played collegiately for Centenary College in Louisiana for three years beginning in 1932. Parker then signed with the Lions as a fullback in 1935, and during his first season, he helped the team capture the NFL championship. After one more year in the Motor City, he was traded to the Cardinals and spent the next seven seasons with Chicago, also seeing time on defense as a linebacker and defensive back. During the latter two years, he added the duties of backfield coach before becoming a full-time assistant in 1945.

In 1947, the Cardinals captured their second NFL title, then lost in a blizzard in the following year's championship clash at Philadelphia. On February 3, 1949, he and Phil Handler were named co-head coaches of the Cardinals, replacing Jimmy Conzelman, who had left to work for a local advertising agency. The unique arrangement, which had Parker handling the offense and Handler the defense, quickly proved to be unworkable, and Handler was returned to the front office on October 25 with the Cardinals sporting a 2-4 record.