Danny Parks
Class of 2006
From Lee High in Huntsville to the longest game in professional baseball history, Danny Parks stacked indelible chapters. At Memphis State (1973–76), the right-hander helped the Tigers reset the program standard for wins three times, culminating in a then-record 32 victories and the school’s first NCAA Tournament berth in 1976. Parks’ rise was steady and spectacular: seven wins and five shutouts in ’74; a perfect 6–0 with a 1.22 ERA in ’75 (still a Memphis record decades later); and a senior season highlighted by eight complete games, a school-record 83 strikeouts that stood 15 years, and one-hitters against both Ole Miss and Louisiana Tech. In the NCAA Regional, he tossed a two-hit shutout of Minnesota—outdueling future Hall of Famer Paul Molitor.
By the time he left campus, Parks ranked among Memphis’ best: 23 career wins (fifth all-time), a 2.27 career ERA, and 189 strikeouts. The Boston Red Sox selected him in the 10th round of the 1976 draft, launching a pro career that turned legendary on April 18–19, 1981. Pitching for Triple-A Pawtucket, Parks started and hurled the first six innings of a game against Rochester that stretched 33 innings before being suspended and later completed on June 23—the sport’s marathon of marathons.
Parks never strayed far from the game. Based in the Fairhope–Daphne area, he built a construction career while coaching youth teams, giving private lessons, and helping organize an NBC tournament squad that returned him to Wichita—where he’d once traveled as a Huntsville Independent. Visitors spot books on the 33-inning epic on his shelves, but he hardly needs them to recall the night.
He and his wife, Donna (U.S. Sports Academy), raised two children, Kyle and Kara, and celebrate six grandchildren. From Huntsville sandlots to college dominance to baseball’s most famous box score, Danny Parks made the long game look easy.
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