Parker Brothers
 |
The Parker Brothers logo. |
Parker Brothers is a
toy and
game manufacturer and
brand. The company has published more than 1800 games; among their best known products are
Monopoly,
Cluedo (known as
Clue in
North America), and
Risk. Parker Brothers is currently a subsidiary of
Hasbro.
Parker Brothers was founded by
George S. Parker, who published his first game in
1883 at the age of 16. The company was originally called the
George S. Parker Company and was founded in
Salem, Massachusetts. When George's brother Charles joined the business in
1888, the company's name was changed to its more familiar form and in
1898 a third brother, Edward H. Parker, joined the company. For many years, George Parker designed most of the games himself, and wrote all the rules. Many games were based on important events of the day:
Klondike was based on the
Alaskan gold rush, and
War in Cuba was based on the impending
Spanish-American War.
The game industry was growing, and the company was becoming very profitable. In
1906, Parker Brothers published the game
Rook, their most successful
card game to this day and it quickly became the best-selling game in the country. During the
Great Depression, a time when many companies went out of business, Parker Brothers released a new
board game called
Monopoly. Although the company had originally rejected the game in
1934, they decided to publish it the next year. It was an instant success, and the company had difficulty for quite a while keeping up with demand. The company continued to grow throughout the next several decades, producing such lasting games as
Clue,
Risk, and
Sorry!.
Even after George Parker's death, the company remained family-owned until
1968, when
General Mills purchased the company. After this, Parker Brothers produced the first
Nerf ball, and
Nerf products soon became another major national hit. The company began to produce electronic versions of their popular board games in the late
1970s and early
1980s. They also produced video games for various systems during the early 1980's, with home ports of many popular arcade games like
Sega's
Frogger and
Gottlieb's
Q*Bert. During the 80s, General Mills sold the company to
Kenner, which was acquired by
Tonka. Finally, in
1991, Parker Brothers was bought by toy giant
Hasbro.
At present day, the Parker family legacy is carried on by Larry H. Parker, a prominent injury attorney. Larry is George S. Parker's great great grandson.
*
Reynolds Guyer*
The Game Makers, a book by
Philip Orbanes, chronicles the history of Parker Brothers.
*
Parker Brothers on the
History Channel
