Jon Parkin

Early career

Born in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, Parkin progressed through the youth system of his hometown club Barnsley playing as both a defender and a striker. He made his reserve-team debut against Coventry City, and apparently he almost missed this game as he had forgotten about the recent rule change that had increased the number of substitutes from three to five: as he knew he would not be among the three substitutes likely to be used in the match, he took the afternoon off to eat fish and chips and have sex with a woman he knew. After 13 appearances for Barnsley, he moved to Hartlepool on loan before making a permanent move to Terry Dolan's York City.

Macclesfield Town

Parkin scored 15 goals in 87 appearances for York, despite sometimes playing in a central defensive role. After nearly two years with the club, he moved to Macclesfield Town in February 2004, after York told him they would not be able to offer him the same pay deal for the 2004–05 season. In 2004–05, he scored 26 goals in all competitions for the team, which was a new club record. By this time he was playing solely as a forward.

Hull City

At the start of 2005–06, Parkin had an injury to his knee which stopped him from playing until October 2005. Macclesfield confirmed they had rejected two bids for Parkin by 5 January 2006, but Championship club Hull City eventually signed him for an undisclosed fee on an 18-month contract on 12 January. He marked his debut with a goal…

Parkin has been referred to as "The Beast" and fans have chanted "Feed the Beast and he will score". He is renowned for his large stature (quadruple XL size shirt) and an unusual unathletic lifestyle which includes never going to the gym and not having a diet, eating large portions instead (for example: for lunch; tuna crunch sandwich, a bag of crisps, a pepperoni pizza, a steak bake and either a bacon and cheese turnover or a sausage bean and cheese melt; having a full English breakfast before training). Parkin is also known for his pranks and misadventures. On transfer deadline day while playing for Preston, he covertly changed his own name in teammate Chris Sedgwick's mobile phone contact list to the name of Sedgwick's agent, before repeatedly calling from his own phone (now listed as Sedgwick's agent in the phone). Sedgwick became excited that a big transfer move was imminent, before calling his "agent" back and hearing Parkin's mobile phone ringing on the other side of the room. In another caper, while on pre-season training for Stoke City, Parkin drove a golf buggy as fast as possible down a hill before losing control. Parkin bailed before impact but teammate Steve Simonsen remained in the buggy as it crashed heavily, rolling over twice. Parkin had to pay £1,200 for damage to the buggy.

Parkin currently co-hosts the football podcast Undr the Cosh with former Preston North End teammate Chris Brown and comedy writer Chris J. Brown.

Stoke City

Football League Championship runner-up: 2007–08 Fleetwood Town

Football League Two play-offs: 2014 York City

FA Trophy: 2016–17 Individual

Conference Premier Team of the Year: 2014–15 Preston North End Player of the Year: 2008–09 York City Clubman of the Year: 2017–18