13/08/2026
Sorry about the lateness of this post but we’ve been away.
My family and I were devastated to hear of the passing of former Wolves goalkeeper Phil Parkes.
I had known Lofty for over forty years since I joined Fordhouses Cricket Club in the mid-1980s. Phil was already a well-established stalwart of the club and was very much “one of the lads”.
I used to love listening to Phil’s stories, especially from his time in the North American Soccer League. When he went jogging in Chicago during the winter and returned home unable to move his neck and then realised that the strong winds had frozen the sweat on his body, his tussle with the legendary Pele, abusing a former team-mate from the stands during their opposition’s training session and the same former team-mate nearly getting them shot in a Chicago bar.
Phil always supported charity events that myself and many other Wolves fans staged. He always had time for everyone and never refused to pose for a selfie or sign an autograph.
I was proud to be involved with two tribute dinners to Phil. Firstly, the “They Wore The Shirt” dinner organised by my good friend Steve Plant. That dinner was attended by two of his understudies, Gary Pierce and Bruce Grobbelaar. Phil suffered a broken ankle shortly before the 1974 League Cup final against Manchester City and he knew straight away that he would miss the final. Gary was effusive in his praise of the help and encouragement Lofty gave to him before the game. Gary had the game of his life to ensure that Wolves were victorious on that March day.
When Bruce was told about the dinner we were planning he insisted on attending and paid a glowing tribute to Phil and reminisced about babysitting for Dean and Greg.
A second tribute dinner followed earlier this year with many former opponents taking time to pay tribute to Phil and his namesake, former England, Walsall, Queens Park Rangers and West Ham United keeper Phil Parkes travelling up from his home in Berkshire to attend the dinner along with former Wolves stars John Richards, Steve Daley, Matt Murray, Carl Ikeme, Mel Eves, Norman Bell, Jon Purdie and Gerry Farrell.
The photographs I have posted here recollect some of my fondest memories of the "Big Man": John Richards presenting him the his portrait at the "They Wore The Shirt" dinner, enjoying a joke with Bruce Grobbelaar, with Manchester City legend Joe Corrigan at Steve Daley's "They Wore The Shirt" dinner, the Wolves former players at his tribute dinner earlier this year with "the other" Phil Parkes, at one of our "Dining with Legends" events for Smile For Joel, at Steve Plant's fundraiser for Cure Leukaemia, the tributes paid to him by his contemporaries for the programme for his tribute dinner in January, at a charity golf day with Kenny Hibbitt, Cyrille Regis and Gary Shaw, the cover of the "They Wore The Shirt" menu and a fantastic tribute by David Instone for that menu.
Sending our deepest condolences to Dean and Greg and all Phil’s family and friends.
RIP Phil.
