| No. 57, 56, 51 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Linebacker | ||
| Personal information | |||
| Born: | January 4, 1948 Beaumont, Texas, U.S. | ||
| Died: | May 9, 2018 (aged 70) Paso Robles, California, U.S. | ||
| Height: | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||
| Weight: | 220 lb (100 kg) | ||
| Career information | |||
| College: | Stanford | ||
| NFL draft: | 1970 / Round: 4 / Pick: 91 | ||
| Career history | |||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||
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| Player stats at NFL.com | |||
Donald Edward Parish (January 4, 1948 – May 9, 2018) was an American football linebacker. Parish played at Stanford, where he was the Pop Warner Trophy winner in 1969.[1] He was chosen in the fourth round of the 1970 NFL Draft by the St. Louis Cardinals.[2] Parish played three seasons for the Cardinals, Los Angeles Rams, and Denver Broncos.[3]
He had three brothers, Kenneth, Cecil and Don.[4]
The St. Louis Quarterback Club selected Parish as the Cardinals' team Rookie of the Year in December 1970.[5]
As a member of the Cardinal, Parish set the school record for single-game tackles against Oregon State in 1968, making 23 stops, a mark he would hold for 18 years until Dave Wyman surpassed it.[6] As a senior, he was selected for first-team All-America honors by the AP, The Sporting News and Time.[7]
In 1971, then-Stanford coach John Ralston called Parish "the finest linebacker" he had ever coached, adding: "In his three seasons (at Stanford), he has never given anything less than 110-percent effort."[8]
| Season | School | Tackles |
|---|---|---|
| 1967 (So.) | STAN | 71 |
| 1968 (Jr.) | STAN | 143 |
| 1969 (Sr.) | STAN | 141 |
| Career | Total | 355 |
He suffered from traumatic brain injury during his football days, his brother, Kenneth, told a reporter in 2021. Unhoused in Los Angeles for many years, Parish died at age 70 on May 9, 2018, in Paso Robles, California.[9]
In June 2022, his alma mater, PRHS, named its football field in honor of Parish.[10]