Pittsburgh Steelers and Military Service
Perry was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the eighth round (90th overall pick) of the 1953 NFL Draft. His professional football career was deferred due to Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) obligations. Perry joined the United States Air Force, where he achieved the rank of second lieutenant. While serving in the Air Force, Perry played on the Bolling Air Force Team that included Al Dorow, Tommy O'Connell, and Johnny Lattner. Perry was named the outstanding football player in the military.
In 1956, Perry joined the Pittsburgh Steelers as an end. On his first play for the Steelers, Perry ran 93 yards for a touchdown in a pre-season game against the Detroit Lions. In his first six NFL games, Perry totaled 14 catches for 334 yards and two touchdowns, including a 75-yard touchdown catch against the Cleveland Browns. Perry also returned 11 punts for 127 yards and nine kickoffs for 219 yards.
In his sixth regular season game, Perry sustained a fractured pelvis and dislocated hip that forced his retirement. Football writer Mark A. Latterman later wrote about witnessing Perry's career-ending injury:
"A skinny 15 year-old boy and his dad were cheering the Pittsburgh Steelers new rookie star, Lowell Perry as he roared whippet-like around the New York Giants' fabled 1956 defensive line and headed full-throttle for the open field. The boy's cheers turned to tears when Giants' star, Roosevelt Grier crunched Perry from behind and linebacker Bill Svoboda hit him from the side simultaneously, filling the stadium with a sickening 'crack' which silenced the Steelers' faithful. I will never forget my sadness as the stretcher carried my new hero from the field. Perry's pelvis was fractured, his hip dislocated and he never played pro football again."
Perry was hospitalized at Pittsburgh's Mercy Hospital for 13 weeks after the injury. In June 1957, the Steelers hired Perry as the team's ends coach, making him the NFL's first African American coach since Fritz Pollard in the 1920s. He worked as a scout for the Steelers in 1958. While working for the Steelers, Perry went to the Duquesne University law school.
Read more about this topic: Lowell Perry
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