Sports

Legendary Sportsman Keith Parker Dies at 92

NASSAU, BAHAMAS – A legendary icon whose influence has impacted generations of Bahamians – Keith Parker, has died at 92.

Published

2 months ago

September 30, 2024

10th Year Seniors

NASSAU, BAHAMAS – A legendary icon whose influence has impacted generations of Bahamians – Keith Parker, has died at 92.

A national Hall of Fame member nationally renown for his contributions to track and field, Parker’s connection with The Bahamas began at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games competing for England.

At those games he was introduced to Thomas A. Robinson. The following year – he made the move to The Bahamas in 1959 and became fully ingratiated into Bahamian culture for the remainder of his life.

Parker taught several subjects at Government High School, and in his days as a competitor he represented his adopted country in the West Indies Federation Games and held the Bahamian record in both the long jump and javelin.

In addition to track and field, he also represented The Bahamas in field hockey, badminton, darts, and squash.

His lasting legacy will be as a world class track and field coach. At the Olympics, he served on four national team staffs from the 1984 games in Los Angeles to the 2008 games in Beijing. He also coached five IAAF World Championships, six Pan American Games, four Commonwealth Games, six Central American and Caribbean championships, and several CARIFTA championships.

As a personal coach, Parker has guided the athletics careers of former Prime Minister Perry Christie, former member of parliament Bernard ‘BJ’ Nottage, former women’s javelin national record holder Laverne Eve, former women’s long jump national record holder Shonel Ferguson, olympic medallist Andretti Bain, and world championship medalist Trevor Barry.

Parker served at the Ministry of Education as a school inspector and officially became a citizen of The Bahamas in 1984.

He was honored in 1978 as a member of the British Empire (MBE) for community service, was inducted into the BAAA’s Hall of Fame in 1997, received the international Olympic committee diploma in 2001 and, in 2010 was inducted into both the CAC Hall of Fame and the Bahamas’ National Sports Hall of Fame.

WNBA

The 2023 WNBA finals rematch got off to a favorable start for Jonquel Jones and the New York Liberty.

Jones posted a double double – 13 points and 12 rebounds – in her New York Liberty’s 87-77 win over the defending WNBA Champion Las Vegas Aces Sunday afternoon at the Barclays Center.

New York took a 1-0 lead in the semifinals with game two set for Tuesday night at 7:30 pm.

Jones was also named a WNBA All-Defensive Second Team selection.

It was her fourth career All-Defensive Team selection and her first with the Liberty.

She was sixth in the league at nine rebounds per game, ninth at 1.3 blocks per game, and anchored a liberty defense that had the WNBA’s third-best defensive rating and held opponents to the lowest average on second-chance points per game.

MLB

Jazz Chisholm Jr produced career numbers in the 2024 season and excelled in the spotlight of the largest media market in the MLB.

The season was of course highlighted by his trade from the Miami Marlins to the New York Yankees, but Chisholm’s production made him one of the fan favorites in New York.

In 147 games, he hit .256, with 144 hits, 245 total bases, 24 home runs, 40 stolen bases, 73 RBI, and scored 74 runs.

All of these numbers are career highs for the Yankee infielder.

The Yankees clinched the top overall seed in the American League and will open their postseason run in the game one of the divisional series on October 5 against the winners of the Baltimore Orioles versus Kansas City Royals matchup.