The rescue of Parks Sausage Co. moved a big step forward when a federal bankruptcy court judge approved the sale of the struggling company to a group led by former Pittsburgh Steelers running back Franco Harris and Baltimore Colts football player Lydell Mitchell.

Parks, founded in 1951 by city council member Henry Parks Jr., became in 1961 the first black-owned company in the United States to sell stock to the public. Parks' pepper spiced sausage and its slogan "More Parks Sausages Mom, Please" eventually made it a household name.