Wabash College Athletics Hall of Fame
Chesterton native David Parry came to Wabash as a star athlete and graduated having earned four baseball letters as both outfielder and catcher. Twice he captained the baseball team and was named the Most Valuable Player and Sportsmanship Award winner as a senior. The speech major and member of Phi Delta Theta was Wabash’s long ball threat, and led the team in homers in both 1956 and 1957. It was his homer that helped Wabash to a 7-6 season-ending win over DePauw in 1956.
Once a Wabash intramural official, Parry began officiating Big Ten and Mid American Conference football games by the age of 33. Six years later he began an illustrious 15-year career as an official in the National Football League. During his career, Parry worked 14 NFL playoff games, including four championships, and he earned the rare distinction of officiating Super Bowl XVII. In addition to officiating in the NFL, Parry logged 20 years of Big Ten and MAC basketball assignments, including playoff or post-season tourney games in each of those years. Parry continued to serve his profession with a passion as the first ever National Coordinator for the NCAA and CCA football officiating programs. Twenty major football conferences were under his direction and coordination, including the Big Ten Conference, for which he served as Supervisor of Football Officials.
