Parker's success was immediate and unprecedented. His crews won the Eastern Sprints every year between 1964 and 1970. Parker coached a Harvard four man boat (4+) at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Parker and the Harvard crew made the cover of Sports Illustrated in 1965. Parker's crews won the 1967 Pan American Games, and finished second at the 1967 European Championships. Parker's 1968 crew earned the right to represent the United States at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City—the last collegiate crew ever to do so. The Harvard 8 narrowly won the Olympic trials by 5/100th of a second over of a powerful University of Pennsylvania crew – a race that pitted Parker against his mentor Joe Burk.