Villa favourite Harry dies at 89
Former Aston Villa star Harry Parkes has died at the age of 89 following a long illness, it has been announced.
A fans' favourite, Mr Parkes was a permanent fixture in Villa's defence during the post-war years and he made 345 appearances for the club in eight different positions.
After he retired from the game he ran a successful sports shop in Birmingham city centre. He also sat on Aston Villa's board of directors in the late 1960s and1970s.
Mr Parkes died at his Solihull home on Wednesday. He was widely regarded as one of the most popular Villa players of all time and a few years ago supporters voted him the club's Player of the Decade for the 1940s.
He was born in Erdington on January 4 1920 and joined Villa as an amateur in 1939. He made his name as a footballer during the war, when he was a prolific scorer during 144 games, many of them at centre-forward.
But when competitive football resumed, he settled into a defensive role. Aston Villa say he served the club with "great distinction" until his retirement in 1955.
After he left the game he concentrated on his popular sports shop which was on Corporation Street in the city centre. He retired in the mid 1990s.
Although he represented England at junior level, he was never capped for the senior team. He was in line for an England call in 1946 but missed out because of a serious arm injury suffered at Derby.
His death is the fourth to hit Villa this year.
Last month ex-Villa and Wolves legend Paul Birch died from bone cancer aged 46. Fans and ex-players turned out at West Bromwich Crematorium to pay tribute to the midfielder who was born in West Bromwich.
He was known as 'Birchy' made more than 200 appearances for Villa after joining as an apprentice in 1980.
He moved to Wolves in 1991 and played more than 140 times.
In January Villa legend and 1957 FA Cup-winning skipper Johnny Dixon died away aged 85. An inside forward - and sometime winger - Dixon enjoyed 17 years with the claret and blue.
After a spell at Spennymoor United, his talents were spotted by Villa in the summer of 1944 and he signed as a professional in January 1946.
In the same month it was announced former player and manager Vic Crowe had died at the age of 76. Crowe's service at Villa spanned 17 years.
