Bobby Lowe - Later Years

Later Years

After retiring as a player and coach, Lowe continued his affiliation with the game as a scout for the Detroit Tigers in the early 1910s. In February 1912, a syndicated newspaper story reported that Lowe had traveled 20,000 miles as a scout during the prior year, and noted that his itinerary "reads like a cross between a railroad guide and an atlas." Lowe's destinations in 1911 included Hattiesburg, Mississippi, Macon, Georgia, Yazoo City, Mississippi, Montgomery, Alabama, New Orleans, Chicago, Memphis, Atlanta, Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Hannibal, Missouri, Denver, Butte, Montana, Boise, Idaho, Kansas City, Minneapolis, Waterloo, Iowa, Green Bay, Wisconsin, Calgary and Moose Jaw.

Lowe was married to Harriet Hughes, whose father operated the Leslie Hotel in New Castle. They had no children. After retiring from baseball, Lowe remained in Detroit. In 1920, he was living with his wife and was employed as a "dealer" in real estate. Later, he became an inspector for the City of Detroit Department of Public Works. In 1930, he was living with his wife at the Case De Vine Apartments and was employed as an inspector for the City of Detroit.

Lowe remained "a student and ardent patron of baseball." In 1922, he returned to Boston to play in a veterans baseball game to benefit Boston Children's Hospital. After Lou Gehrig hit four home runs in a game in 1932, Lowe, wearing his old Beaneaters uniform, posed with Gehrig. Lowe said, "I feel complimented to share the record with so grand a boy." He was 38 years older than Gehrig, but outlived him by 10 years.

In December 1951, Lowe died at his home in Detroit at the age of 86. He was posthumously inducted into the Lawrence County Sports Hall of Fame in 1995.