Legendary Wolves goalkeeper Phil Parkes sadly passed away this morning at the age of 79.
The Hall of Fame inductee, affectionally nicknamed ‘Lofty’ due to his 6'4" frame, spent 18 years at Wolves and is known as one of the greatest ever goalkeepers to represent the club.
Parkes joined as a schoolboy in 1960 and turned professional four years later, starting with the old reserve team before going on to make 382 appearances for the club before his departure in 1978.
After progressing through the infant years of the Wolves Academy, Parkes made his first-team debut between the sticks in November 1966 and saved a penalty in a 3-2 win over Preston North End – the start of his legendary Old Gold career.
A hugely consistent performer of the Bill McGarry era, Parkes broke a club record for consecutive league games for Wolves, playing 127 games in a row during the early ‘70s – a record which may never be broken.
During that same period Lofty was instrumental in the club’s journey to a first ever European final – he’d saved two penalties in the UEFA Cup semi-final against Ferencvaros, before collecting a runner up medal following a narrow defeat to Tottenham Hotspur in the final.
Two years later he played in every round of Wolves’ journey to the League Cup final at Wembley but was cruelly denied an appearance in the showpiece event – a 2-1 win over Manchester City – due to injury.
His latter years at Molineux were spent competing with fellow stoppers Gary Pierce and Paul Bradshaw, often serving as understudy by that point, but Parkes bowed out with a victory in his final game against West Ham United in March 1978.
Having been part of the club’s famous Los Angeles Wolves adventure in 1968, Parkes saw out his career in North America, representing the likes of Vancouver Whitecaps and Chicago Sting during the early years of the MLS.
After retiring Parkes settled back in Wolverhampton, serving on the committee of the Former Players’ Association and remaining a regular presence around Molineux before a serious fall at home last year led to emergency surgery on his back – an injury which left him under medical supervision until his passing today.
Asked in 2024 how he’d like his Wolves career to be remembered, he said: “I hope my Wolves career is remembered with joy. I loved playing for this football club, I had a great time, so I just hope all the supporters enjoyed it too.”
The thoughts and prayers are with Lofty’s loved ones at this sad time. Details on further club tributes will follow.
