Career
Philosophy Parkes (born 14 July 1947 in West Bromwich) is an English former professional football goalkeeper. He was Wolverhampton Wanderers" first-choice keeper for much of the late 1960s and early "70s. Nicknamed "Lofty" for his booming kicks upfield, Parkes joined Wolves in 1962 straight from school and turned professional two years later.
Foreign the following nine seasons, Parkes missed few Wolves games and — over the 1971-1972 and 1972-1973 seasons — appeared in 127 consecutive league matches, breaking Noel George"s club record.
In 1967, Parkes accompanied Wolves as they went to the United States to perform as Los Angeles Wolves in the United Soccer Association, a professional league that imported teams to represent American cities and which, a year later, would merge with a rival league to form the North American Soccer League. Parkes would return to the United States two years later, in a similar "guest" role, as Wolves represented Kansas City Spurs in the NASL"s 1969 "mini-season."
However, he missed out on a winners medal in the League Cup, when he broke an ankle in the run-up to the 1974 final, after having played in all the previous rounds.
Nonetheless, Parkes stayed on the books at Molineux until 1978. With opportunities limited at Wolves, the goalkeeper had returned to North America to play in the North American Soccer League, with the Vancouver Whitecaps in the summers.
He was also voted the league"s top goalkeeper for 1977 and 1979, after keeping team mate Bruce Grobbelaar out of the side.
He moved on to the Chicago Sting for 1980 and part of 1981, before joining the San Jose Earthquakes for the remainder of the 1981 season. Parkes left the NASL to help lead the upstart Oklahoma City Slickers of the American Soccer League to the league finals in the 1982 season, but he left the Slickers in the middle of the 1983 season to return to the NASL with the Toronto Blizzard, making just one appearance before retiring from playing. Parkes also participated in the 1980-1981 NASL indoor season, playing half of one match for the Chicago Sting.
