New York Jets: Remembering quarterback Babe Parilli
Former New York Jets quarterback Babe Parilli, Joe Namath‘s backup quarterback in Super Bowl III, passed away at 87.
July 15 will go down as a sad day for the New York Jets family. Babe Parilli, of AFL fame, passed away at the age of 87. The cause of death was not disclosed in the announcement. He spent the end of his career with the Jets, becoming known as Joe Namath’s backup from 1968-69, including Super Bowl III.
Vito “Babe” Parilli was born in 1930 in Rochester, PA,and spent his early years there. He went to the University of Kentucky when a fellow by the name of Paul “Bear” Bryant was coaching there. He may have been best known at Alabama, but rest assured he got a football education at Kentucky. In three years as a Wildcat, Parilli threw for 4,351 yards and 50 touchdowns.
He was drafted with the fourth overall selection of the 1952 NFL Draft by the Green Bay Packers. Parilli made stops in the NFL, the CFL and around the AFL before he landed in New York with the Jets in 1968. He had spent his career as a starter, but unfortunately for him, this guy named Joe Namath was ahead of him on the depth chart, relegating Parilli to No. 2. At 38 years old, he was coming into the end of his career and the fit was perfect.
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That doesn’t mean he spent the whole season on the bench, however. Parilli got into six games, including throwing three touchdown passes in the fourth quarter in a December win over the Dolphins. He relieved Namath over the next two weeks as well, both Jets victories. For the season, Parilli went 29-of-55 through the air for five touchdowns against two interceptions. His passer rating was 91.6.
Some may not remember, however, that Parilli came on in relief in Super Bowl III. He made a brief entry after Namath left the game shaking his throwing hand after a hit. He took just one snap, throwing an incompletion before Jim Turner notched his second field goal of the ballgame, staking the Jets to a 13-0 lead. Thankfully, Namath’s hand was fine and he returned to finish the game and bring us the iconic number one finger running off the field.
In 1969, Parilli’s final year, he got into three games, all Jets wins. He completed 14-of-24 passes for 138 yards for two touchdowns and an interception. From there, he retired and got into coaching. He coached the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterbacks in 1973. After that, he coached one year in the World Football League. After a long layoff, he returned to coaching in 1988, making several stops around the Arena Football League.
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Condolences to the Jets organization and the Parilli family. He is a Jet, and Leonard Bernstein put it best when he wrote, “When you’re a Jet, you’re a Jet all the way.” Rest in peace, Babe Parilli.
Information sourced from the Jets team website and ABC News.