Derek Parkin is an English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 former football player who made a record number of appearances for Wolverhampton Wanderers

Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.

Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club that represents the city of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands region. They are members of the Premier League, the highest level of English football. The club was founded in 1877 and since 1889 has played at...

 (609).

Career

Parkin made his Football League debut on 7 November 1964 for Huddersfield Town

Huddersfield Town F.C.

Huddersfield Town Football Club is an English football club formed in 1908 and based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. They currently play in League One...

 against , aged 16.

In February 1968, he became the costliest full-back in Britain when he joined First Division

Football League First Division

The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....

 side Wolves for £

Pound sterling

The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...

80,000. He made his club debut on 24 February 1968 against his hometown side .

Over 14 years at Molineux

Molineux stadium

Molineux Stadium is a Premier League football stadium situated in Whitmore Reans, Wolverhampton, England. It has been the home ground of Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club since 1889, and has a long and illustrious history as the first 'new build' stadium in Football League history, one of the...

, he made a record amount of senior appearances — 609, including 501 league games, also a club record. He played 50 or more competitive matches in a season for Wolves no fewer than five times — another record — and in seasons 1968–69 and 1969–70, he took part in every single league and cup match played by the club. His long service saw him receive a testimonial match

Testimonial match

A testimonial match or testimonial game, often referred to simply as a testimonial, is a practice in some sports, notably football and especially in the United Kingdom, where a club puts on a match in honour of a player for service to the club....

 in 1979 and become one of the initial inductees into the club's Hall of Fame.

He appeared in two Wembley Cup Finals, collecting a winner's medal each time as Wolves won the League Cup

Football League Cup

The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...

 in both 1974

1974 Football League Cup Final

The 1974 Football League Cup Final was the final match of the 1973–74 Football League Cup, the 14th season of the Football League Cup, a football competition for the 92 teams in The Football League...

 and 1980

1980 Football League Cup Final

The 1980 Football League Cup Final was the final match of the 1979–80 Football League Cup, the 20th season of the Football League Cup, a football competition for the 92 teams in The Football League...

, and also earned a Second Division

Football League Second Division

From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...

 championship medal in 1976–77.

The full-back made five appearances for the England Under-23 side between 1969 and 1971. He was called up to the full team in 1971 for a European Championship qualifier in Malta, but did not appear in the match.

He finally left Wolves to join Stoke City

Stoke City F.C.

Stoke City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire that plays in the Premier League. Founded in 1863, it is the oldest club in the Premier League, and considered to be the second oldest professional football club in the world, after Notts...

in March 1982 on a free transfer and played out a final 14 months before retiring.

After his footballing career ended in May 1983, he moved into landscape gardening.