UNT administrator Walt Parker receives ring from Super Bowl III

On Jan. 9, 1969, three days before the New York Jets were to play the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III in Miami, Jets quarterback Joe Namath was heckled at a dinner because his team was a three-touchdown underdog to win. The popular player replied, "We're going to win Sunday. I guarantee you."

Three days later, Namath directed the Jets on four scoring drives, completing 17-of-28 passes for 206 yards and was voted the most valuable player after leading his team to a 16-7 victory over the favored Colts.

Walt Parker, UNT special assistant to the chancellor and former vice chancellor of governmental affairs, witnessed Namath's triumph firsthand as a game official. Now, 36 years later, he has the same Super Bowl III ring as the quarterback known as "Broadway Joe."

Parker, who worked 42 years as a National Football League official and observer of officials before retiring from the league in 2002, was one of 21 former referees who recently received rings for their service in Super Bowls I through XV. These games were played before 1982, the year the league started giving commemorative rings to Super Bowl officials as well as the players and coaches.

Parker, became an NFL official after first working as a referee for the Southwest Conference and other college football games during the 1950s.

In 1960, he was tapped to become an official for the newly formed American Football League, a professional league that competed with the National Football League until the two merged in 1965.

Parker worked more than 300 games, including several conference championships and three Pro Bowls as well as Super Bowl III. He was also on the sidelines as a substitute referee for Super Bowl VII in 1973.

Parker says his Super Bowl ring is extra special to him not just because it reminds him of the time he spent with the NFL and the many people he met. He notes that the date on it is two days before another significant date in his life.

Parker began his first term as a Texas state representative for Denton and Cooke counties on Jan. 14, 1969. He served five consecutive terms before joining the UNT administration in 1979.

"January 1969 was a historical time for my life in more ways than one," Parker says

BY NANCY KOLSTI nkolsti@unt.edu

Other featured articles in this issue

• Hastings to serve as School of Library and Information Sciences interim dean
• Construction on Eagle Drive expected to begin soon
• UNT parking permits for 2003-04 for sale soon through intercampus mail
• Historically Underutilized Business Fair brings many vendor options to campus
• Fireworks at Fouts the day before Independence Day
• UNT offers several summer dining choices
• Texas Juneteenth tradition has roots in 1865 Galveston
• Tips for drivers as summer gas prices remain high

homepage