"I hope my Wolves career is remembered with joy. I loved playing for this football club." Phil Parkes said that in 2024. He died this morning, aged 79, and those words are the right place to start.
Parkes spent the best part of two decades at Molineux — 382 appearances, a club record 127 consecutive league games in the early 1970s, and a reputation Wolves have described as that of "one of the greatest ever goalkeepers to represent the club." The consecutive appearance record, the club noted, may never be broken. That's not ceremony. For a goalkeeper to play 127 straight league matches without injury, suspension or loss of form is the kind of consistency that makes modern squad rotation look almost absurd by comparison.
A debut with a penalty save, a career built on big moments
The Sedgley-born stopper joined Wolves as a schoolboy in 1960 and turned professional four years later. His first-team debut came in November 1966 — a 3-2 win over Preston North End in which he saved a penalty. The stage fright clearly never arrived.
His career had genuine European texture. Parkes saved two penalties in the UEFA Cup semi-final against Ferencvaros, helping Wolves reach their first ever European final. They lost narrowly to Tottenham Hotspur. Two years on, he played every round of a League Cup run to Wembley, only to be ruled out by injury before the final — a 2-1 win over Manchester City he watched rather than played. That detail stings even reading it decades later.
His last Wolves appearance was a 2-1 win at West Ham in March 1978. He bowed out with a clean sheet on the scoreboard, at least.
From Molineux to North America and back again
After leaving Wolves, Parkes saw out his playing days in North America — Vancouver Whitecaps, Chicago Sting, San Jose Earthquakes, Toronto Blizzard, Oklahoma City Slickers. It was the era of the NASL, where European players went to extend careers and broaden horizons. Parkes had already been part of Wolves' 1968 Los Angeles adventure, so the continent wasn't unfamiliar.
He eventually settled back in Wolverhampton, stayed involved with the Former Players' Association, and remained a regular face around Molineux. A serious fall at home last year led to emergency back surgery and left him under medical supervision. He didn't recover.
Six-foot-four, known as Lofty, 382 games in Old Gold. Wolverhampton won't see many like him again.
