Charles Warrington Leonard "Charlie" Parker (14 October 1882 in Prestbury, Gloucestershire – 11 July 1959 in Cranleigh, Surrey) was an English cricketer who stands as the third highest wicket taker in the history of first class cricket, behind only Wilfred Rhodes and Tich Freeman.
Parker took no serious attention to cricket in his childhood, preferring to concentrate on golf. He only took to cricket around 1900 and was recommended to Gloucestersh...
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Charles Warrington Leonard "Charlie" Parker (14 October 1882 in Prestbury, Gloucestershire – 11 July 1959 in Cranleigh, Surrey) was an English cricketer who stands as the third highest wicket taker in the history of first class cricket, behind only Wilfred Rhodes and Tich Freeman.
Parker took no serious attention to cricket in his childhood, preferring to concentrate on golf. He only took to cricket around 1900 and was recommended to Gloucestershire by W. G. Grace in 1903. However, he played only twice in first-class cricket before 1907. From then on, he played regularly, and despite several excellent performances, he was always overshadowed by George Dennett until World War I put a halt to county cricket. By 1914, Parker had not taken 100 wickets in a season and his last two years had been very expensive, suggesting that his was to be an insignificant career.
In 1919, with Dennett serving as an officer in the Army, Parker was forced to become Gloucestershire's chief bowler. He took...
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