Gary Lowe

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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.[1] 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.[2]

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.[3] A summertime knee injury had fallen the team's anticipated starting tailback, Bernie Raterink, for the season, opening a spot for Lowe.[3] "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."[3]

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.[4] 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 football[5] — 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.[6]

Death and legacy

Lowe died on October 8, 2017, at the age of 83.[7]

References

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  1. ↑ Hal Schram, "Rouge's 15th Straight is Loaded with Drama," Detroit Free Press, Feb. 24, 1951, p. 12.
  2. ↑ "Class B All-State Teams," Saginaw News, Dec. 6, 1951, p. 42.
  3. ↑ a b c George S. Alderton, "Heat Really On! Spartans Broiling: Literally, or Any Other Way, State Squad is On the Fire," Lansing State Journal, Sept. 2, 1953, p. 28.
  4. ↑ "Spartans on Way to Iowa: Traveling Squad of 38 Players Named," Saginaw News, Sept. 24, 1953, p. 46.
  5. ↑ Clarence Munn, "Thumbs Down On The One Platoon," Sports Illustrated, Nov. 29, 1954.
  6. ↑ Edward M. "Bud" Erickson (ed.), Detroit Lions Facts Book 1963. Detroit, MI: Detroit Football Company, 1963; p. 22.
  7. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".

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