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Woodrow Lowe, a three-time All-American at Alabama before and an 11-year NFL veteran, died after battling a lengthy illness. Lowe’s brother confirmed to AL.com that he died Thursday morning. “Woodrow was a great older brother,” Eddie Lowe, who currently serves as the mayor of Phenix City in Alabama, told AL.com. “He pushed me, not just in football, but in life. He was pushed himself, and he passed that down to me. “He was a good person, a very good person. He loved people and gave of himself his entire life. He lived a good life.” The linebacker started his college football career in 1972 — the first year in which freshmen were permitted to play on varsity squads — and soon became a starter for an Alabama team that won the SEC championship. “At Alabama, we had great expectations,” Lowe told AL.com back in 2015. “It was never, ever about me. It was always about the team, the program and the organization. The thing that I thrive off even today was we were a team. Your teammates knew the expectations.” During his sophomore season, Lowe recorded a program-record 134 tackles, helping lead the Crimson Tide to another SEC title. He also earned All-SEC first team and All-American honors — the first of three straight nods. “It’s amazing the way he gets through a mess to make a tackle,” famed Alabama head coach Paul “Bear” Bryant told the Miami Herald in 1973. “Woodrow has more ability at linebacker than anyone who’s been around here since Lee Roy, and he’s bigger and faster than Lee Roy.” Lowe was selected by the Chargers in the fifth round of the 1976 NFL Draft and spent the entirety of his 11-year career in San Diego. During his time with the Chargers, Lowe started 151 games, notching 21 interceptions and 26 sacks before his retirement following the 1986 season. After retiring, Lowe was selected to both the Chargers’ 40th and 50th anniversary teams. Lowe was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 2001 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 2009.
