Sports Editor's Note: The following was submitted by Norwich High School Athletic Director Joseph Downey, and was written by Tom Rowe.

Although he never wore a shield with a large red “S” on his chest, Jeff Parker embodied two of the three traits associated with ‘Superman.’ No, he didn’t leap over tall buildings with a single bound, but like the fictional ‘Man of Steel’ he seemed to be “faster than a speeding bullet and more powerful than a locomotive” whenever he donned the Purple and White, especially when he took to the Norwich football field.

A three-sport athlete (football, basketball and baseball) with eight varsity letters under his belt, Parker earned his spot in the sixth induction class of the Norwich High School Sports Hall of Fame with his record-setting performance on the gridiron. There, between 1994-96, he established the Tornado’s all-time career rushing mark of 2,930 yards on 356 carries in 25 games, an average of 8.2 yards per tote and 117.2 yards per outing. The previous record of 2,652 yards had been held by Barry Benjamin, a fellow NHSSHOF inductee, back in 1980-82. And, that total would have been even greater had he not missed the final two games of the 1995 season due to an ankle injury.