John Parke (6 August 1937 – 27 August 2011) was a footballer, who played for Linfield, Hibernian, Sunderland, Vancouver Royal Canadians, KV Mechelen and the Northern Ireland national football team as a full back.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1937-08-06)6 August 1937 | ||
| Place of birth | Bangor, Northern Ireland | ||
| Date of death | 27 August 2011(2011-08-27) (aged 74) | ||
| Place of death | Belfast, Northern Ireland | ||
| Position(s) | Defender | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Cliftonville | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1954–1963 | Linfield | ||
| 1963–1964 | Hibernian | 21 | (0) |
| 1964–1968 | Sunderland | 85 | (0) |
| 1967 | → Vancouver Royal Canadians (loan)[1] | 7 | (0) |
| 1968 | KV Mechelen | 39 | (0) |
| Total | 152+ | (0+) | |
| National team | |||
| 1963–1967 | Northern Ireland | 14 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
He started his professional footballing career in his native Northern Ireland with Cliftonville before joining their rivals Linfield in 1954.[2] Having been a key player in the club's 'Seven Trophy' season of 1961/62, he moved to Scotland with Hibernian in 1963 where he made 23 appearances, scoring no goals. Parke moved to Sunderland in November 1964[3] and made his debut on 21 November, against Sheffield United in a 3–0 defeat at Bramall Lane.[4] He went on to make 85 league appearances for the club.[5] He joined Belgian club KV Mechelen before retiring in 1968.[2]
He won his first cap for Northern Ireland on 12 November 1963 in a 2–1 win against Scotland. He went on to make a further 13 caps for his country, making it a total of 14 caps, with 0 goals.[2]
Parke died of Alzheimer's disease in 2011, aged 74.[6]