All-Time Packers QBs Ranked: Starr #1, Rodgers #2

Babe Parilli

Retired 6 Years In The NFL
🏆 Super Bowl champion (III)
Babe's
HAIR
9.2
HeyTC AI Rating

Questions about Babe Parilli or the Packers?

Babe Parilli Legacy

HEYTC AI
Vito "Babe" Parilli was the slick Kentucky gunslinger who lit up Bear Bryant's T-formation, baffling defenses with fakes that left 'em tackling ghosts while he rifled passes to wide-open receivers. A two-time All-American who nearly snagged a Heisman, he bounced through the NFL before owning the AFL as Boston's flashy "Gold-Finger"—holder extraordinaire and aerial maestro paired with Gino Cappelletti for league records in '64. His twilight glow? Backup to Joe Namath on that immortal Super Bowl III squad. Parilli passed in 2017 at 87, leaving a trailblazing legacy across three leagues.
Babe Parilli passed away on July 15, 2017 at the age of 87.

Babe Parilli Rating Breakdown

Season
Subpar
Fantasy
Subpar
Playoffs
Non-Factor
Overall
Cooked
4 years with the Packers

Babe Parilli Career Stats via Wikipedia

22,681 Pass Yards
178 Touchdowns
220 INTs
0.0% Comp %
9.2 HAIR
49-45 Record

Frequently Asked Questions About Babe Parilli

How does Jordan Love compare to Babe Parilli?

Jordan Love's got the keys to the Packers kingdom now, but Babe Parilli laid early bricks as their 1952 rookie sensation, throwing for 1,416 yards while Bart Starr warmed the bench—Love's flashier arm echoes that raw upside, though Parilli's journeyman grit across five teams and 22,681 yards sits deeper in Green Bay lore than Love's starter tenure so far.

Is Babe Parilli in the Pro Football Hall of Fame?

Nope, Babe Parilli never made it to Canton despite 22,681 yards, 178 TDs, three Pro Bowls, and a Super Bowl III ring as Namath's backup—his AFL fireworks with the Patriots, like that 3,465-yard '64 explosion, earned college halls but not the big one; guy's a Kentucky legend who lit up Boston instead.

How would Babe Parilli perform in today's NFL?

Parilli's gunslinger arm—think 31 TDs in '64—would feast under pass-happy rules with better protection and Gino Cappelletti types everywhere, maybe cracking 4,000 yards yearly like his AFL peak; but 220 picks scream turnover machine in a league that buries gunslingers who gamble too wild.

How does Babe Parilli compare to Bart Starr?

Parilli's Packers stints were appetizer to Bart Starr's five-title feast—9.23 rating on sketchy early rosters vs. Starr's ice-cold 64.74 and Lombardi magic; Babe slung 1,416 yards as a '52 rook but bounced around, while Starr owned Lambeau like a surgeon, turning Green Bay into Titletown.