William O. Lowe
Lowe, c. 1917
PositionGuard
Personal information
Born:(1894-05-23)May 23, 1894
Loudon County, Tennessee, U.S.
Died:March 12, 1949(1949-03-12) (aged 54)
Fountain City, Tennessee, U.S.
Career history
CollegeTennessee (1914–1916; 1919)
Career highlights and awards

William Oscar "Chink" Lowe (May 23, 1894 – March 12, 1949) was an American college football player, lawyer, and Republican political figure in Tennessee. He received the Navy Cross during World War I, and served as the first commissioner of the Smoky Mountain Conference.

Biography

Lowe was born on May 23, 1894, in Loudon County, Tennessee, to Jesse Grant Lowe and Margaret Anna Alexander.[1][lower-alpha 1] His father was a teacher.[3]

Lowe was a prominent guard for the Tennessee Volunteers football team of the University of Tennessee. He and his three brothers (Andy Lowe, J. G. Lowe, and Ted Lowe) all played for Tennessee.[4] Lowe was a substitute for the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA) champion 1914 team. Two years later, he was an All-Southern selection for the SIAA co-champion 1916 team.[5] He was elected captain of the next year's team;[6] however, the university suspended varsity football during 1917 and 1918 due to players being called into military service. Lowe was one of a number of American athletes in the early 20th century with the nickname "Chink"; he was referred to by that nickname in newspapers as early as November 1911.[7] In the 1980s, Lowe was selected for an 1891–1919 All Tennessee team.[8]

Lowe served in the First World War as an observer and gunner in the Army's fledgling aviation corps. attached to the Army as a Marine.[4] He enrolled as a provisional second lieutenant in the Marine Corps Reserve the day after his 23rd birthday, later serving with the 90th Aero Squadron. For extraordinary heroism in France in October 1918, Lowe was awarded the Navy Cross:[2][lower-alpha 2] he shot down one German plane and disabled another, and later, on the same mission, he was attacked by five planes and still managed to complete his mission.[9]

Lowe graduated from the University of Tennessee College of Law in 1920, and practiced law in Knoxville, Tennessee.[10] He was elected to the Tennessee General Assembly in 1921.[11] In January 1927, he was unanimously elected as the first commissioner of the newly formed Smoky Mountain Conference.[12] The conference consisted of colleges mostly in East Tennessee with enrollments of up to 700 students.[13] Lowe served as commissioner until September 1941.[14] Active in politics, Lowe was the Republican candidate in the 1946 Tennessee gubernatorial election,[10] which he lost to Democratic incumbent Jim Nance McCord.

Lowe died at his home on March 12, 1949, aged 54, of heart issues.[10] He was survived by his wife and one daughter.[10]

Notes

  1. ↑ The citation for Lowe's Navy Cross listed his birthplace as Athens, Tennessee.[2]
  2. ↑ The decoration was the Distinguished Service Cross at the time it was awarded to Lowe, which was later retroactively changed to Navy Cross for Navy and Marine personnel.

References

  1. ↑ "Delayed Birth Registrations: 1800-1900's" (PDF). Knox County, Tennessee – via knoxlib.org.
  2. 1 2 "Navy Cross - WWI - Marine Corps L-Z". homeofheroes.com. Retrieved May 11, 2021. Born: at Athens, Tennessee
  3. ↑ "Record of the alumni, College of Liberal Arts, U.S. Grant University, Athens, Tennessee. 1866-1896". Ogden Bros. 1896.
  4. 1 2 "Volunteer Warrior". University of Tennessee Alumni Magazine.
  5. ↑ Closed access icon "All-Southern Football Team As Picked By Sport Writers". Augusta Chronicle. December 3, 1916.
  6. ↑ "Lowe Leads Tennessee". The Charlotte News. December 14, 1916. Retrieved March 3, 2015 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  7. ↑ "C. H. S. Team to Meet Alumni". The Daily Journal and Tribune. Knoxville, Tennessee. November 30, 1911. p. 4. Retrieved May 11, 2021 – via newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ Fields, Bud; Bertucci, Bob (1982). "1891-1919 All Tennessee". Big Orange: A Pictorial History of University of Tennessee Football: 54. ISBN 9780880110716.
  9. ↑ Lowell, A. Lawrence (January 1, 1997). New England Aviators, 1914-1918: Their Portraits and Their Records. Schiffer Pub. ISBN 9780764303456 – via Google Books.
  10. 1 2 3 4 "W. O. 'Chink' Lowe Dies Of Heart Seizure". The Knoxville Journal. Knoxville, Tennessee. March 13, 1949. p. 1. Retrieved May 11, 2021 – via newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ "W. O. Lowe Succumbs". The Knoxville Journal. Knoxville, Tennessee. March 13, 1949. p. 5. Retrieved May 11, 2021 – via newspapers.com.
  12. ↑ "Lowe Named "Landis" Of Conference". Knoxville News Sentinel. Knoxville, Tennessee. January 7, 1927. p. 19. Retrieved May 11, 2021 – via newspapers.com.
  13. ↑ Tobitt, Bill (August 13, 1939). "TWO BITS' WORTH". Oakland Tribune. Retrieved March 26, 2017 – via newspapers.com.
  14. ↑ "Three Schools Left In Smoky". Kingsport Times. Kingsport, Tennessee. AP. September 17, 1941. Retrieved March 26, 2017 – via newspapers.com.

Further reading

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