Two members of the UK Athletic Hall of Fame passed away over the weekend. Vito “Babe” Parilli lost his battle with cancer on Saturday and Jerry Bird died of natural causes at his home in Corbin, KY on Sunday. Both of these athletes had tremendous impact on their sports during some of the golden years for the university’s football and basketball teams.
Babe Parilli played for the legendary Paul “Bear” Bryant. I often forget that Bear coached the Wildcats before he cemented his legend as coach of the Crimson Tide. But, playing within the legendary coach’s “‘T’ formation”, Parilli was able to take the Wildcats to heights never seen before, and rarely touched since.