As a young boy growing up in Jamaica, Queens, Rob Parker dreamed of becoming a first baseman for the New York Mets.
Indeed he went on to become a seminal figure in the sports world, but not as an athlete. Instead, Parker is one of the country’s leading sports journalists.
His pioneering career will be honored tomorrow (Friday, August 4) with induction into the National Association of Black Journalists Hall of Fame at the organization’s annual convention held this week at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex in Birmingham, Alabama.
“If you would have told me back when I started my career in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania in 1986 that I would be inducted into the NABJ Hall of Fame, I would have told you ‘no way, no how,’’’ Parker told the AmNews from his home in Los Angeles, California, on Tuesday.
“This ride has been tremendous,” Parker continued. “It’s had bumps and turns, and good and bad, and all that other stuff. But the one thing I always feel good about is that I’ve stayed consistent. Consistent in my mind is that I’ve always worked hard, and I’ve always worked hard at trying to help other people in this business.”
In his 37-year career, the 59-year-old Parker has broken barriers and reached back to lift up younger sportswriters coming up behind him. To date, he has mentored more than 50 journalists, including ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith. Next spring, Parker will teach a Baseball Writing class at the University of Southern California that he developed.
He is currently a co-host of “The Odd Couple,” a nightly national show on Fox Sports Radio with former New York Times sportswriter Chris Broussard. Parker is also an analyst for the MLB Network and adjunct professor at USC.
At just 22, Parker was hired by the New York Daily News, at the time the largest newspaper in the country. The Southern Connecticut State University alumnus who also holds a master’s degree from Columbia University is the founder and editor of MLBbro.com, a website that covers Black and brown Major Leaguers. The site employs a part-time staff of over 60 people. In February 2023, MLBbro.com and the MLB formed an unprecedented partnership.
In 1993, he became the first Black sports columnist for the Detroit Free Press. At the time he was hired, the newspaper was 161 years old. Later, Parker was the first Black sports columnist at Newsday in 1995. He was also the first African American to cover the Cincinnati Reds on a daily basis when he joined the staff of the Cincinnati Enquirer in 1991.
Additionally, Parker has blazed a trail in radio. He was the first on-air person hired at WDFN-AM in Detroit, the city’s first all-sports station. Parker has been a mainstay on TV as well. He worked 20 years at WDIV – Local 4, the NBC affiliate in Detroit and was an analyst for ESPN for eight years, primarily on the popular show First Take. He also did a five-year stint on FS1’s Undisputed and The Herd as an analyst.
Parker’s roots as a sports journalist are steeped in his alma mater, Martin Van Buren High School in Queens Village, New York, which last year inducted him into its Hall of Fame.