Gary Lowe
{{Short description|American football player (1934–2017)}}
{{distinguish|text=singer Gary Low or Australian rules footballer Garry Lowe}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2024}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
| image = Lowe-Gary-1963.jpg
| caption = Lowe in 1963
| position = Defensive back
| number = 40, 43
| birth_date = {{birth date|1934|05|04}}
| birth_place = Trenton, Michigan, U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|2017|10|8|1934|5|4}}
| death_place = Troy, Michigan, U.S.
| draftyear = 1956
| draftround = 5
| draftpick = 59
| high_school = Trenton
| college = Michigan State
| teams =
- Washington Redskins ({{NFL Year|1956}}–{{NFL Year|1957}})
- Detroit Lions ({{NFL Year|1957}}–{{NFL Year|1964}})
| highlights =
| statlabel1 = Games played
| statvalue1 = 97
| statlabel2 = Starts
| statvalue2 = 61
| statlabel3 = Interceptions
| statvalue3 = 20
| statlabel4 = Safeties
| statvalue4 = 1
| statlabel5 = Fumble recoveries
| statvalue5 = 11
}}
Gary Richard Lowe (May 4, 1934 - October 8, 2017) was an American football defensive back. He played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Washington Redskins and the Detroit Lions. He played college football at Michigan State University and was drafted in the fifth round of the 1956 NFL draft.
Early life
Gary Lowe was born May 4, 1934, in Trenton, Michigan, located 19 miles south of Detroit. He attended Trenton High School, where he was a star playing football and basketball, helping to lead the school to a Detroit Suburban "B" Conference basketball title in 1950–51.Hal Schram, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/detroit-free-press-rouges-15th-straight/159476542/ "Rouge's 15th Straight is Loaded with Drama,"] Detroit Free Press, Feb. 24, 1951, p. 12. On the gridiron the senior was selected a first-team back on the Associated Press's Michigan Class B All-State Team at the end of the 1951 season.[https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-saginaw-news-associated-press-michig/159477847/ "Class B All-State Teams,"] Saginaw News, Dec. 6, 1951, p. 42.
College career
Lowe stayed in state to go to college, attending Michigan State College (MSC) in East Lansing. After spending the 1952 season on the freshman football team, Lowe was promoted to the varsity in the fall of 1953, where he was regarded as a top prospect by head coach Biggie Munn and his staff.George S. Alderton, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/lansing-state-journal-heat-really-on-sp/159478396/ "Heat Really On! Spartans Broiling: Literally, or Any Other Way, State Squad is On the Fire,"] Lansing State Journal, Sept. 2, 1953, p. 28. A summertime knee injury had fallen the team's anticipated starting tailback, Bernie Raterink, for the season, opening a spot for Lowe. "We will move Gary Lowe into the spot," said backfield coach Steve Sebo. "He's a sophomore, but he can go and I think he will learn the assignment quickly."
Lowe spent the 1953 season on the Spartans as a reserve, playing behind star left halfback Leroy Bolden. Lowe was a key substitute, named by Coach Munn to the team's 38-man traveling squad.[https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-saginaw-news-spartans-on-way-to-iowa/159528852/ "Spartans on Way to Iowa: Traveling Squad of 38 Players Named,"] Saginaw News, Sept. 24, 1953, p. 46. Michigan State would lose only once on the year, finishing with a #3 national ranking and earning a trip to the 1954 Rose Bowl.
Lowe's promotion to the MSC varsity in 1953 coincided with a return to the one-platoon system in college footballClarence Munn, [https://archive.today/20130102053142/http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1128569/index.htm "Thumbs Down On The One Platoon,"] Sports Illustrated, Nov. 29, 1954. — in which substitution meant loss of a player for the duration of the quarter, so eleven players stayed on the field in both offensive and defensive capacities. Lowe consequently saw action not only as an offensive halfback but as a defensive back as well. It was in this latter capacity that he particularly shined.
Professional career
A Detroit resident, during the off-season he worked for the Autolite division of the Ford Motor Company.Edward M. "Bud" Erickson (ed.), Detroit Lions Facts Book 1963. Detroit, MI: Detroit Football Company, 1963; p. 22.
Death and legacy
References
{{Reflist|35em}}
{{1952 Michigan State Spartans football navbox}}
{{1957 Detroit Lions}}
{{Redskins1956DraftPicks}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lowe, Gary}}
Category:American football defensive backs
Category:Detroit Lions players
Category:Michigan State Spartans football players
Category:Washington Redskins players
Category:Sportspeople from Trenton, Michigan
Category:Players of American football from Wayne County, Michigan