Autographed 1960 Fleer Paul Lowe

#076 – Paul Lowe

After a failed attempt to make the final cut with the San Francisco 49ers out of college, Paul Lowe came to the Los Angeles Chargers after he was discovered working in the mail room of the Carte Blanche Credit Card Company, owned by Chargers owner, Barron Hilton.  Lowe recalled joining with the Chargers in a 2003 interview.

Mr. Frank Leahy was the general manager at that time and they were forming a football league.  So they found out that I was in the mailroom at the time.  That is where my job was.  They got in touch with me and asked me if I wanted to play professional football.  They were starting a league in L.A.  I told them, “Sure.”  So that’s how I really got started with the L.A. Chargers.  And then shortly after that Frank Leahy resigned and then Sid took over the organization.  And Sid remembered me from when I played for the 49ers because I made a couple of kick off returns and punt returns against the Rams, which had impressed him.  So they asked if I wanted to play and I said, “Yeah.”  I was invited to camp and all that, and that’s how I got started with the Chargers.

Lowe a former football star and hurdler at Oregon State University, signed a contract with the Chargers, and began a career that saw him become one of just 20 men to play in all 10 AFL seasons.

Lowe gained an immediate name for himself when he ran the opening kickoff, in the Chargers first-ever pre-season game, 105 yards for a touchdown.

Along with quarterback Jack Kemp, another 49ers cast off, Lowe represented the main offensive threat in the Chargers backfield in 1960.  Paul Lowe averaged nearly 10 rushes per game in ’60, and totaled 855 yards and eight touchdowns on the season.  His 6.3 yards-per-carry average was tops in the AFL.  He also hauled in 23 receptions for 377 yards and two touchdowns.  For his efforts, Paul Lowe was selected as the Chargers “Best Offensive Back” for 1960.

The following year, in 1961, the Chargers moved south to San Diego.  They drafted fullback Keith Lincoln out of Washington State University, and when teamed with Lowe, the pair made one of the AFL’s all-time great backfield tandems.

paul lowe's 1960 best offensive back award

Paul Lowe’s 1960 Chargers Best Offensive Back Award