[1] Parkes was born in Lye and played for Newcastle Town and Brighton & Hove Albion before joining Sheffield Wednesday in 1914.
He was a regular in the Wednesday side in 1914–15 as they achieved a 7th-place finish in the First Division.
His career was interrupted by World War I and once League football had been resumed in 1919–20 Parkes had lost his place in the side.
[1] He left for Stoke in July 1920 however he failed to make much of an impact and after making just six appearances in 1920–21 he left for Welsh side Llanelly.
[1] He then moved to Rochdale where he spent six seasons making 219 appearances for the "Dale" before ending his career with Macclesfield.