100 Days, 100 Detroit Lions: #94 Gary Lowe
94. Gary Lowe
Defensive Back. 1957-64 Detroit; 1956-57 Washington Redskins
Gary was often a forgotten man while playing in the Lion secondary alongside players like Yale Lary, Night Train Lane, Jim David and Dick LeBeau. Let there be no mistake though that the 5-foot-11, 196 pounder from Michigan State could more than hold his own against NFL offenses.
Gary was drafted by the Washington Redskins in the fifth-round of the 1956 draft. He was released by the Redskins in 1957, and was soon grabbed by the Lions off the waver-wire. Lowe played in seven games that season, grabbing one interception, as the Lions clawed their way to their last NFL Championship.
Lowe would move into the starting left safety position, opposite Yale Lary, in 1958. In 1959 Gary would have a career year, as he would lead the Lions in interceptions with five, returning them for a league-leading 130 yards. In 1963, he would suffer a torn Achilles tendon which ended his year after only three games. It would be only one in a series of injury setbacks for Detroit, as they would finish with a disappointing record of 5-8-1. Although Gary would appear in 13 games the following season, he would never fully recover from the injury, and would retire after the 1964 campaign. He would end his NFL career with 20 interceptions, 19 of them coming as a Lion.
