We sat down with Helen Kugel, a former guidance counselor at the now-defunct Courter Tech High School in Cincinnati, who had a 50-year friendship with the late Dave Parker. Parker, a Cincinnati native and former Reds player,

Dave "The Cobra" Parker, the Cincinnati native and one of the most feared hitters of his generation, has died of complications following a long illness, the Cincinnati Reds announced Saturday. He was 74.

Powerful enough that long before Cincinnati legend Dave Parker, who died at the age of 74 Saturday, June 28, won his own long-awaited place in baseball’s Hall of Fame, he helped open the path for another Cincinnati-raised player to reach Cooperstown.