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No. 7 - Hank Parker
Hometown: Denver, North Carolina
Born: Denver, NC
Birthday: 3/26/1953
Family: Five children
Hobbies: Deer hunting
Favorite Music: Country
Hometown: Denver, North Carolina
Born: Denver, NC
Birthday: 3/26/1953
Family: Five children
Hobbies: Deer hunting
Favorite Music: Country
Career Stats
Scorecard:
2 BMC titles (1979, 1989)
13 BMCs fished
5 BASS titles
AOY in 1983
BASS Times in money: 77
BASS Total Entries: 104
BASS Total Weight: 2,559-8
BASS Career Winnings: $405,156.47
Turned Pro: 1976 (he fished the NBA and ABA two years before joining BASS trail) Titles/Honors: Professional Bass Fishing Hall of Fame
1983 BASS AOY
1979 BMC champion
1989 BMC champion
Notables:
Parker entered the 1975 S.C. Invitational on Santee Cooper and did poorly, prompting him to return home to Lake Wylie … he spent the next two years competing in American Bass Association and National Bass Association circuits.
Came back to BASS for good in 1978 and qualified for his first BMC. That year he fished 27 "national" tournaments and collected $60,000 in prize money.
He didn't have a flipping stick with him during practice but borrowed one from a local radio announcer … the rod broke. Ironically, he borrowed another from Gary Klein.
Bassmaster gave him credit as the first angler to win bass fishing's "Grand Slam" in 1985 after he won the 1985 Super BASS Tournament, the 1983 AOY, and the 1979 BMC (a BMC, AOY and SuperBass title).
Timeline:
1975: Entered South Carolina Invitational on Santee Cooper (and bombed)
1975-77: Fished regional NBA and ABA tournaments
1978: Joins BASS trail at the age of 27
1978: Fishes first BMC
1979: Wins BMC
1983: Wins AOY
1983: Wins BASS "Grand Slam"
1985: "Hank Parker Outdoors Magazine" debuts (syndicated)
1986: Show moves to TNN and stays until 2003
1989: Wins BMC
1990: Retires from BASS competition
1993-95: Returns to fish annual Bassmaster SuperStars tournaments
Defining Moment:
1982 BASS/Hungry Fisherman South Carolina Invitational on Lake Wylie, where he lived. In the 1990 BMC Report he said: "The most discouraged I ever got was in 1982. I fished a poor tournament at Lake Wylie. I grew up on that lake, and I expected much more. That was my low point, but also my turning point. I realized my mistakes. I had gotten complacent, didn't give 100 percent. Had I done well there, I'd have been AOY." The next year he was … Claim To Fame:
Winner of two BMC titles Strengths:
Initially he was known as a spinnerbait expert and he later added flipping to his reputation after winning the 1979 BMC. Nuggets:
After winning the 1979 BMC weighing 225 he dropped to 195 pounds after going on a diet and exercise program in 1982. When he was on the heavy side his nickname was "Gentle Ben." Ray Scott even had Hank and Bo Dowden stage a foot race to see who was the fastest. Complete BASS statistics
BASS Times in money: 77
BASS Total Entries: 104
BASS Total Weight: 2,559-8
BASS Career Winnings: $405,156.47
Turned Pro: 1976 (he fished the NBA and ABA two years before joining BASS trail) Titles/Honors:
1975: Entered South Carolina Invitational on Santee Cooper (and bombed)
1975-77: Fished regional NBA and ABA tournaments
1978: Joins BASS trail at the age of 27
1978: Fishes first BMC
1979: Wins BMC
1983: Wins AOY
1983: Wins BASS "Grand Slam"
1985: "Hank Parker Outdoors Magazine" debuts (syndicated)
1986: Show moves to TNN and stays until 2003
1989: Wins BMC
1990: Retires from BASS competition
1993-95: Returns to fish annual Bassmaster SuperStars tournaments
Defining Moment:
1982 BASS/Hungry Fisherman South Carolina Invitational on Lake Wylie, where he lived. In the 1990 BMC Report he said: "The most discouraged I ever got was in 1982. I fished a poor tournament at Lake Wylie. I grew up on that lake, and I expected much more. That was my low point, but also my turning point. I realized my mistakes. I had gotten complacent, didn't give 100 percent. Had I done well there, I'd have been AOY." The next year he was … Claim To Fame:
Winner of two BMC titles Strengths:
Initially he was known as a spinnerbait expert and he later added flipping to his reputation after winning the 1979 BMC. Nuggets:
After winning the 1979 BMC weighing 225 he dropped to 195 pounds after going on a diet and exercise program in 1982. When he was on the heavy side his nickname was "Gentle Ben." Ray Scott even had Hank and Bo Dowden stage a foot race to see who was the fastest. Complete BASS statistics
