Paul Lowe
refer to caption
Lowe c. 1961.
No. 23, 26
Position:Halfback
Personal information
Born: (1935-09-27) September 27, 1935
Homer, Louisiana, U.S.
Height:6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight:205 lb (93 kg)
Career information
High school:Centennial (Compton, California)
College:Oregon State
Undrafted:1959
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career highlights and awards
Career AFL statistics
Rushing yards:4,995
Rushing average:4.9
Rushing touchdowns:38
Receptions:111
Receiving yards:1,045
Receiving touchdowns:7
Player stats at NFL.com · PFR

Paul Edward Lowe (born September 27, 1936) is an American retired professional football halfback who played for the Los Angeles / San Diego Chargers and the Kansas City Chiefs of the American Football League (AFL) from 1960 to 1969. He won an AFL championship with the Chargers in 1963 and a Super Bowl with the Chiefs in 1969. He played college football for the Oregon State Beavers.

Early life

Lowe was born in Homer, Louisiana, and grew up in Los Angeles. He attended Centennial High School in Compton, California, where he was a standout in football, track, and basketball.[1]

College career

Lowe attended Oregon State University and played under Beavers coach Tommy Prothro. In his sophomore year (1956) he played as a reserve quarterback and running back, compiling 293 yards on 13 for 27 passing behind Joe Francis, and rushing 124 for 427 yards and 6 touchdowns behind Tom Berry. The team won the division, finished 11th nationally, and played in the 1957 Rose Bowl, where they lost for the second time to #3 Iowa. After taking his junior year off, Lowe again returned as two-position backup in his senior year, finishing with 100 yards on 6 of 17 passing, along with 62 rushes for 162 yards and 2 touchdowns (third on the team in all categories).

Professional career

After leaving Oregon State University, Lowe was undrafted in the 1959 NFL Draft. He played for the San Francisco 49ers during the 1959 pre-season before being released in the final cut after hurting his ankle before the regular season began.[1] He returned to Los Angeles, California to get a job to support his wife, Sophia Lowe. He took a job in the mailroom for the Carte Blanche Credit Card Corporation, owned by the Hilton family.[2]

In 1960, Barron Hilton, son of famed hotel magnate Conrad Hilton, was the original owner of the Los Angeles Chargers, a start-up team in the newly formed American Football League. The Chargers General Manager, Frank Leahy, asked Lowe to come out to the Chargers training camp on the basis of his talents at Oregon State a few years back.[2] Lowe joined the Chargers as a free agent.[3] He returned his first touch of the football in the AFL for a 105-yard touchdown in the Chargers' first-ever exhibition game. That season, he led the team to a 10–4 record and a Western Division championship.[4] He had a team-high 855 yards rushing on 136 carries for a career-high 6.3 yards average per carry, and also had 23 receptions for 377 yards.[1][4] Lowe finished No. 2 in the league in rushing, 20 yards behind Abner Haynes of the Dallas Texans,[5] and earned first-team All-AFL honors as a halfback.[4] In the 1960 AFL championship game, Lowe ran for 165 yards.[1]

In the season opener of 1961 against the Texans, with the team now based in San Diego, Lowe had the Chargers' longest run from scrimmage with an 87-yard run, a record that still stands.[1][2] He missed the 1962 season after breaking his arm.[1] He returned and ran for 1,010 yards in 1963, when the Associated Press named him the AFL Comeback Player of the Year.[6] Limited by a muscle injury in 1964,[6] Lowe's production fell to 496 yards.[4]

In 1965, Lowe was named the AFL Player of the Year by The Sporting News after a then-league-record 1,121 yards rushing and six touchdowns (14-game schedule).[1][7] He became the first AFL player to rush for 1,000 yards twice after gaining 99 yards in a 37–26 win over the Houston Oilers, clinching the Chargers' fifth Western Division title in six year.[8] In the regular season finale against the Oakland Raiders, he broke Clem Daniels' single-season record of 1,099 rushing yards, set by the Raider in 1963.[9] Again named the AFL's comeback player of the year,[6] Lowe was also tied for second with teammate Lance Alworth in voting by United Press International for their AFL player of the year award.[10]

Lowe rushed for 643 yards the following season in 1966, and his output fell to 71 yards on 2.5 yards per carry in 1967. After running for nine yards on his only carry in the 1968 season-opener win over Cincinnati, he was waived by San Diego. He was 28 yards shy of the 5,000 yard career milestone.[11] Lowe joined the Kansas City Chiefs as a free agent after all six of their running backs were injured.[12] He played nine games for Kansas City on special teams, winning a Super Bowl ring along with fellow AFL 10-year men Tom Flores, Johnny Robinson, Jacky Lee and Coach Hank Stram.

Legacy

Lowe was a four-time All-AFL selection, including twice on the first team, as well as a two-time AFL All-Star.[13] He averaged 4.9 yards per carry during his career, which is the highest in Chargers franchise history and tops in the AFL.[14] He set a pro football record with six games gaining 100+ yards on 14 carries or less. Lowe's career rushing total of 4,995 yards are the second-most in AFL history.[3] He led the Chargers in rushing five times, including two 1,000 yard seasons.[1] His 4,972 yards with the Chargers remained a team career record until 2004, when he was surpassed by LaDainian Tomlinson.[15] Lowe was the AFL leader or runner-up in rushing touchdowns four times.[15] He is also one of only twenty players who were in the AFL for its entire ten-year existence.[3]

In 1970, the Pro Football Hall of Fame named Lowe as a running on the All-Time All-AFL Team. In 1979, the Chargers inducted him into the Chargers Hall of Fame.[13] As of 2006, Lowe was living in San Diego and supports his team as a season ticket holder.[2]

Health

Lowe has experienced ringing in his ears since 1965. In 2017, a neurologist diagnosed that a CT scan "showed atrophy of frontal lobes, and his testing showed...moderate dementia". In 2018, Lowe signed papers that awarded him $25,000 (before lawyer fees) from the NFL concussion settlement.[16]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Wolf, Bob (August 1, 1990). "REMEMBER WHEN : Many of the Highs Were Lowe's With the Original Chargers". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 12, 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "FIVE DAYS 'TIL KICKOFF". chargers.com. Archived from the original on February 28, 2007. Retrieved January 15, 2008.
  3. 1 2 3 Piascik, Andy; Gill, Bob; Lahman, Sean; Crippen, Ken (2009). "Hall of Very Good" (PDF). The Coffin Corner. Vol. 31, no. 5. p. 6. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Shining Light on Paul Lowe's Forgotten AFL Legacy". Pro Football Hall of Fame. January 29, 2018. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
  5. ↑ "Oilers Meet Los Angeles For Crown". The Corpus Christi Caller-Times. January 1, 1961. p. 2D. Retrieved January 10, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. 1 2 3 "Paul Lowe Voted Top Comeback". Atlantic City Press. AP. December 18, 1965. p. 20. Retrieved January 13, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ "Saban Is Coach of Year in AFL". The Sacramento Bee. AP. December 24, 1965. p. C4. Retrieved January 13, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ "Paul Lowe Paces 'Diego To AFL Title". Daily Record. UPI. December 13, 1965. p. 6. Retrieved January 13, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ "Gillman Refuses Handshake; Bills Title Test Next". Press-Telegram. December 20, 1965. p. D-4. Retrieved January 13, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ "Bill's Kemp picked 1st in AFL; Lowe, Alworth follow". Tulare Advance-Register. UPI. January 3, 1966. p. 5. Retrieved January 13, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ Magee, Jerry (September 16, 1968). "Lowe, Charger Vet, Placed On Waivers". The San Diego Union. pp. D1, D6. Retrieved January 13, 2024 – via NewsBank.
  12. ↑ Marshall, Tom (September 25, 1968). "Chiefs and Paul Lowe". The Kansas City Times. p. 2B. Retrieved January 13, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. 1 2 "All-Time AFL Team - OFFENSE". Pro Football Hall of Fame. January 1, 2005. Retrieved January 13, 2024.
  14. ↑ Miller, Bryce (September 29, 2017). "Ex-Charger Paul Lowe: 'Are they waiting for me to die?'". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
  15. 1 2 Sullivan, Tim (October 9, 2004). "Recognition elusive for Paul Lowe". The San Diego Union-Tribune. p. D-1. Retrieved January 12, 2024 – via NewsBank.
  16. ↑ Miller, Bryce (November 30, 2018). "Column: Chargers legend Paul Lowe feeling effects of dementia, deaths, cancer". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
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