Parilli, "Babe" (Vito)
Football
b. May 7, 1930, Rochester, PA
An outstanding ball-handler and passer, Parilli was an All-American quarterback at the University of Kentucky in 1950 and 1951. When he graduated, he held NCAA career records for most touchdown passes, 50; most completions, 331; and most yards gained passing, 4,351. His 23 touchdown passes in 1950 was also a record at the time.
Parilli was named the most valuable player in the 1951 Sugar Bowl, when Kentucky ended top-ranked Oklahoma's 31-game winning streak with a 13-7 victory, and he was named the outstanding back in Kentucky's 20-7 win over Texas Christian in the 1952 Cotton Bowl.
He joined the NFL's Green Bay Packers as a first-round draft choice in 1952. Parilli spent two seasons with Green Bay, then went into military service for two years and was traded to the Cleveland Browns. After spending 1956 with the Browns, he returned to Green Bay for two more seasons.
In 1959, Parilli played for the Ottawa Roughriders of the Canadian Football League. He then joined the Oakland Raiders of the new American Football League for a season. Parilli's most productive professional seasons were spent with the New England Patriots from 1961 through 1967.
Parilli completed 153 of 337 passes for 2,345 yards and 13 touchdowns to lead the Patriots to the 1963 Eastern Division championship, but they lost 51-10 to the San Diego Chargers in the AFL title game.
He finished his playing career as Joe Namath's backup with the New York Jets in 1968. Parilli was an assistant coach with several professional teams and he served as head coach of the World Football League's New York Stars in 1974 and the Chicago Wind in 1975.