Vito “Babe” Parilli passed away today at 87-years-old. The former NFL, AFL, and CFL quarterback was a member of the 1960s All-Decade Team, and we’ve got the latest report on the sad news.
Cause of Death
Presently, not much is known about Parilli’s death. It’s presumed that he simply passed away of old age.
Career
Babe was born and raised in Rochester, Pennsylvania, and he played his college ball at the University of Kentucky under Bear Bryant. In both 1950 and 1951, Parilli was named an All-American and a Heisman Trophy finalist.
Parilli was taken fourth overall in the 1952 NFL Draft by the Green Bay Packers, but he didn’t find much success in the league. After two underwhelming seasons with the Packers, Babe left to play for the Ottawa Rough Riders in the CFL. He bounced around Ottawa, Green Bay, and Cleveland throughout the 1950s before ultimately settling in the AFL.
Babe had an uneventful first season in the AFL as a member of Oakland Raiders, but he really hit his stride when he was traded to the Boston Patriots. He played with the Patriots from 1961-1967, making three All-Star teams along the way. In 1964, Babe threw 31 touchdown passes, which was the franchise record until Tom Brady threw 50 in 2007.
Via NFL.com, here’s more accolades from Parilli’s remarkable career.
Parilli currently sits fourth on New England’s all-time career passing list with 16,747 yards and fourth with 132 touchdown passes on 2,413 attempts. He was voted into the Patriots Hall of Fame in 1993.
As a member of the New York Jets in 1968, Parilli backed up Joe Namath during Gang Green’s Super Bowl run, throwing for 401 yards and five touchdowns during the campaign.
Rest in peace, Babe.
