Louisville-native Allen Parr played for Kentucky from 1939 to 1942, starting at end as a sophomore, junior, and senior. Like other athletes who wore glasses at the time, Parr had two options if he wanted to see the field. One was to wear one of the relatively new bird-cage face masks that covered the top half of the face and protected the player’s glasses.

The second option was to wear rubber-framed prescription goggles, the route chosen by Parr. Doing so led an Atlanta newspaper to call him the Man From Mars, but such was the price Parr paid to see the balls thrown his way. Of course, the googles protected only his eyes and did not prevent him from losing two front teeth during the Wildcat's 1940 game with George Washington U.

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