Rob Parker Goes Into The Black Sportwriters Hall of Fame

January 23, 2026 1

Rob Parker has been named to the 2026 inductee class of the Black Sportwriters Hall of Fame, recognizing a career that spans four decades across print, radio and television. Parker is a co-host on FOX Sports Radio’s The Odd Couple with Rob Parker & Kelvin Washington, an MLB Network analyst, and the founder and editor of MLBbro.com.

He began his journalism career in 1986 at the Wilkes-Barre Times Leader and, by age 22, was a full-time sportswriter at the New York Daily News. Parker went on to break barriers throughout his career, becoming the first African American sports columnist at the Detroit Free Press in 1993 and at Newsday in 1995. In 1991, he became the first African American beat writer to cover the Cincinnati Reds for The Cincinnati Enquirer. He later spent nine years as an award-winning sports columnist at The Detroit News.

Parker will be inducted alongside fellow 2026 honorees Clifton Brown, Garry D. Howard and Ron Thomas. The induction dinner and ceremony is scheduled for Saturday, April 11, 2026, at North Carolina A&T State University’s Deese Ballroom at the Student Center.

“What an honor to be recognized by your peers, your people,” Parker said. “I’m thrilled to be inducted alongside such a groundbreaking sports editor and accomplished writers. What a class! I’m both humbled and grateful.”

The Black Sportwriters Hall of Fame honors Black sportswriters and editors for excellence in journalism. The Hall is located on the North Carolina A&T campus in Crosby Hall within the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication.