Parker's teammates celebrate as Cobra reaches Cooperstown

Of all the accolades and accomplishments from Dave Parker’s legendary career -- whether it be his 1978 National League MVP, two World Series rings or multiple batting titles, Gold Gloves and Silver Sluggers -- one of his greatest touchstones in baseball lore is a picture of him wearing a T-shirt.

That shirt simply read: “If you hear any noise, it’s just me and the boys boppin.”

The idea was borne out of a rough patch the team was on and the group not being happy with their offensive production and where they were in the standings. Parker felt the frustration, so he went to a mall to have the custom T-shirt made. The clubhouse loved it, and an iconic image was born.

“And don't go out and try to copyright it because it's mine,” Parker said over Zoom on Sunday.

“He just wanted everybody to relax, and that was his way of doing it,” longtime Pirate Kent Tekulve said over the phone on Monday.

• The origin of Dave Parker's 'Boys Boppin' shirt

It was a small example of why Parker was so beloved and a leader of those late-'70s Pirates teams. If Willie Stargell was “Pops,” Parker was the team’s big brother in the Fam-A-Lee. And that Fam-A-Lee finally got the long-awaited good news they waited years for: Parker is now a Hall of Famer, being elected Sunday at the Winter Meetings via the Classic Era Committee. Parker was one of two players elected this year via that committee, joining Dick Allen.

Parker’s candidacy had been debated for years. One of the greatest players of the '70s, he was mired in controversy in the '80s, which some of his former teammates believed hurt his Hall of Fame chances. But Parker’s fourth time on a Veterans Committee ballot was the charm, much to the joy of his teammates who vocally supported his case through the decades.

“I was finally glad that justice was done,” John Candelaria said over the phone on Monday. “I wasn’t sure [it would happen], but I was hoping.”

“Dave belongs in the Hall,” Mike Easler said over the phone on Monday. “He was one of the best players of his era. Those four, five, six, seven years, he was one of the best players in his era.”

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Parker’s accolades on the field are well known. His leadership in the Pirates' clubhouse -- and future teams’ clubhouses -- made him an icon. His confidence and wit were seldomly matched -- Tekulve could only compare him to Steve Blass when it comes to the latter -- yielding some all-time phrases. Parker shared one during his Hall of Fame Zoom call: “When the leaves turn brown, that’s when I’ll wear the batting crown.”

“He was the Muhammad Ali of baseball,” Easler said. “He talked, and what he talked and bragged about, he backed it up with numbers and hustle and the way he played the game.”

“He’d talk a lot of smack. He’d back it up,” Candelaria said.

Another favorite centered around the three things that were going to happen that day: the sun was gonna shine, the wind was gonna blow and big Dave was going to go 4-for-4, or have three hits, or two hits and a homer. Whatever was on the docket that day for the batting champ.

“You wouldn’t say it, because you’d be afraid you wouldn’t get the three knocks,” Tekulve said. “Especially in our clubhouse. Everybody would get on your ass. He didn’t care, and he would go out and get the three knocks. He liked putting pressure on himself. He liked saying some ridiculous things sometimes, just to force him to live up to it.”

Backing up those performances is what made Parker a legend. It’s why so many who played with or against him were the ones calling for Parker to get the call to Cooperstown. The Pirates held a celebration of the 1979 World Series team this May at PNC Park, and almost all of the players in attendance voiced support for Parker that day, usually unprompted. That’s the norm for them.

“Every time we get together or we’re talking to somebody we played against -- it doesn’t have to be someone in the Hall of Fame, it didn’t have to be a star player, just anybody -- the conversation would work around [to] Dave,” Tekulve said. “Our first statement was we didn’t understand why Dave wasn’t in the Hall of Fame.”

The group is perhaps a bit biased, but that’s because they have a ring to show for it. Parker’s dominance in the late ’70s, culminating in an MVP in 1978 and playing a major role for that 1979 championship team, is ultimately his legacy with the organization. It’s a chapter that probably wouldn’t have been written without him.

“Without Dave, I don’t think we would have won,” Easler said. “Simple as that. Sure we had Stargell. Sure we had [Bill] Madlock. We had great players. But Dave Parker was a leader on the team. He led by example. When Dave went, the team went. As simple as that.”

That 1979 team is forever labeled as Fam-A-Lee, and that bond is forever.

“The Pirates meant a lot to me,” Parker said. “They were a great brotherhood and they were always behind me. I could leave, come back and everything is the same.”