DALE PARKER ’51 dreamed of being a New York Yankee. He played baseball in boot camp before joining the Navy Armed Guard during World War II. But when the war ended, he turned down a pro baseball offer to attend Seattle Pacific College instead. Nobody in the Parker family had ever had a college education, so Parker enrolled at SPC and earned his bachelor’s degree in education in 1951.
After graduation, Parker served as the athletic director for a Christian university in Arkansas before returning to coach SPC’s baseball team. Eventually, he was the first from Seattle Pacific to coach at the University of Washington.
Parker built up the Okanagan Baseball Camp, served as a scout for the Montreal Expos, and ultimately was inducted into the Washington Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame and the University of Washington Hall of Fame. Baseball was never far from his mind — but he always knew where to give credit.
“I’m thankful to the good Lord, every step of the way,” he said.
