Parker to retire from English

By Braden Campbell, Globe Correspondent | November 12, 2009

Longtime Boston English football coach Keith Parker will step down after the Thanksgiving Day game against Boston Latin.

In his 30-year tenure, Parker’s teams won five City League titles and two Division 5B Super Bowls. He has an overall record of 141-168-5.

“I’m 65 years old, and it’s time for me to go,’’ he said. “I’ve had a great career and I’ve enjoyed every bit of it.’’

The program has been in decline since its heyday in the 1990s, when it made three Super Bowl appearances. Parker attributes that to a shrinking enrollment at English, which dropped from about 1,800 in 1997, the year of the team’s last Super Bowl win, to its current total of less than 700.

There had been whispers of Parker’s retirement since the end of last school year, according to Boston City athletic director Ken Still. He and English headmaster Sito Narcisse will conduct the search for a replacement.

“[We would] like to see someone who’s going to really instill some real football knowledge into the kids,’’ Still said. “Not only winning, but trying to make football a piece of the school, where the kids and the staff gather around the sport.’’

Since he started as an assistant coach 33 years ago, Parker has only missed two practices: one for his mother’s funeral, and one because of illness. Still said consistency is what made Parker stand out.

Parker said his most cherished memory is his 1992 team, whose 2-8 record doesn’t begin to tell the story. In six losses, English was within a touchdown.

“They were mostly juniors on that team,’’ he said, “and that turned over to my 1993 team that won the City League championship and the Super Bowl.’’