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Legendary Kentucky Quarterback Babe Parilli Passes Away at 87

Before Woodson. Before Lorenzen. Before Couch, Pookie, Ransdell and Ramsey, there was the Babe. The quarterback that elevated Bear Bryant to stardom at the University of Kentucky, Vito “Babe” Parilli passed away today at 87.

The Kentucky Babe is arguably the most successful person to ever play football at the University of Kentucky. The signal-caller (who actually called the plays for Bryant on the field) threw for 23 touchdowns as a junior and 19 as a senior, earning All-American honors each season. The next time a UK quarterback threw for more than 11 touchdowns in a season, Tim Couch threw 37 in the Air Raid of 1997.