Lowe & Campbell

From Hoopedia

Lowe & Campbell clothing emblem

Lowe & Campbell, of Kansas City, Missouri, was an early power in AAU basketball. In the early 1920s, when amateur basketball was centered in the mid-southwest, notably Kansas and Missouri, Lowe & Campbell basketball teams were briefly a factor in the AAU national tournament taking one championship and one fourth place trophy.

Lowe & Campbell Athletics Goods Company was a business located Kansas City, Missouri, which both manufactured and retailed sporting goods. The team made its first significant mark in the 1921 AAU national tournament, the first year it was held in Kansas City. Lowe & Campbell was rivaled by the Kansas City AC Blue Diamonds for the affection of the hometown fans. In the quarterfinals, Lowe & Campbell beat Northwestern Normal, of Alva, Oklahoma, 49-35. Then in the semifinal game, the team was defeated by their arch-nemesis, Kansas AC, which then went on to win the championship. Lowe & Campbell had to end the tournament with two consecutive losses, as they succumbed to the Atlanta Athletic Club, 36-31.

The 1921-22 season proved a huge success for Lowe & Campbell. The team was anchored by a potent pair of brothers, George and Fred Williams, plus George Reeves and George “Pidge” Browning; and had a crack coach in Harry Mudd.

Lowe & Campbell 1923 champions

By the time the AAU tournament rolled around, Lowe & Campbell was ready to prove its mettle. In the quarterfinals the team smashed Washburn College of Topeka, Kansas, 39-14, and in the semifinals squeaked by Southwestern College of Winfield, Kansas. The championship game was an all-KC Missouri matchup, in which Lowe & Campbell prevailed over their closest rivals Kansas City AC Blue Diamonds, 42-28. Three Lowe & Campbell players were named to the All American (all-star) team—Reeves, Browning, and Williams.

Lowe & Campbell had reached the pinnacle of success, but it represented the end of championship competition for the team. All its stars were then recruited by the Kansas City AC club, and the following year George Reeves, George “Pidge” Browning, and George Williams all won All American recognition while leading the Blue Diamonds to their second AAU title.

Lowe & Campbell continued to field teams, but the best it could do in subsequent years was in 1931, when they reached the quartefinals. The team's opponent was its longtime rival, Kansas City AC Blue Diamond, which eliminated them 25-21.

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