Dwight Lowry (October 23, 1957 – July 10, 1997), born Dwight Lowery was an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the ( home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the ca ...

who played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

for the Detroit Tigers (1984–1987) and Minnesota Twins (1988). He won a

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...

championship with the 1984 Detroit Tigers.

Early years

Lowry was born in

Lumberton, North Carolina Lumberton is a city in Robeson County, North Carolina, United States. As of 2020, its population was 19,025. It is the seat of Robeson County's government. Located in southern North Carolina's Inner Banks region, Lumberton is located on the Lu ...

, in 1957. He attended

Pembroke High School Pembroke High School, is a public secondary school located on 80 Learning Lane in Pembroke, Massachusetts, United States. The school serves students in grades 9-12 and has an approximate student population of 930 students. It is the only high sc ...

Pembroke, North Carolina Pembroke is a town in Robeson County, North Carolina, United States. It is about 90 miles inland and northwest from the Atlantic Coast. The population was 2,973, at the 2010 census. The town is the seat of the state-recognized Lumbee tribe of N ...

. He next attended the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC Sy ...

earning a degree in industrial relations. He lettered in baseball with the Tar Heels in 1977, 1979, and 1980.

Professional baseball player

Lowry was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the 11th round of the

1980 Major League Baseball draft First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1980 Major League Baseball draft. Compensation Picks Other notable players * Tim Teufel, 2nd round, 38th overall Minnesota Twins *Dan Plesac, 2nd round, 41st overall ...

. He made his major league debut with the 1984 Detroit Tigers team that began the season with a 35–5 record, won 104 games, and beat the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...

in the

. As a backup for All-Star catcher

Lance Parrish Lance Michael Parrish (born June 15, 1956), nicknamed "Big Wheel", is an American former baseball catcher who played Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1977 through 1995. Born in Pennsylvania, Parrish grew up in Southern California and excelled in ...

, Lowry appeared in 32 games for the Tigers in that season, hitting 2

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s and driving in 7 runs while scoring 8 times. On May 20, 1984, Lowry hit his first major league home run in a 4–3 Detroit win over the Oakland Athletics. His blast was the difference in the win that extended the Tigers' record-setting start to 32–5. On September 29, Lowry hit his second home run in an 11–3 win over the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

. The game was the team's record-setting 104th victory of the season. Lowry spent the 1985 season with the Triple-A Nashville Sounds. On July 17, 1985, he caught a no-hitter by batterymate

Bryan Kelly Bryan George Kelly (born January 3, 1934) is an English composer, conductor, and pianist from Oxford. He was a choir boy at Worcester College and attended Southfield Grammar School. After lessons with Harold Spicer, the long-serving organist and ...

. He returned to the Tigers for 56 games in 1986, batting .307, the second-highest on the team among players with at least 150 at bats. He appeared in 13 games in 1987, when the team again won AL Eastern division. Lowry was released by the Tigers on October 16, 1987, and signed as a free agent with the Minnesota Twins on October 23. He had only seven at bats for the Twins and played his last major league game on April 23, 1988. On April 27, Minnesota optioned Lowry to the Triple-A

Portland Beavers The Portland Beavers was the name of separate minor league baseball teams, which represented Portland, Oregon, in the Pacific Coast League (PCL). The team was established in 1903, the first year of the PCL. Franchise history Many baseball teams ...

. In between, Lowry played winter ball with the

Leones del Caracas The Caracas Base Ball Club C.A. or better known by its commercial name as the ''Leones del Caracas'', is a professional baseball team of the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. In its creation, its headquarters are the University Stadium of C ...

club of the

Venezuelan League The Venezuelan Professional Baseball League or Liga Venezolana de Béisbol Profesional (LVBP) is the professional baseball league in Venezuela. The league's champion takes part in the Caribbean Series each year. History Early years Baseball exp ...

in the 1985 to 1986 season. He later won the

Senior Professional Baseball Association The Senior Professional Baseball Association, referred to commonly as the ''Senior League'', was a winter baseball league based in Florida for players age 35 and over, with a minimum age of 32 for catchers. The league began play in 1989 and had ei ...

championship with the St. Petersburg Pelicans in its 1989 inaugural season.

Managerial career

After his playing career ended, Lowry became a

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

in the Tigers' minor league system. He managed the Class A

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its ...

Fayetteville Generals The Fayetteville Generals were a minor league baseball team located in Fayetteville, North Carolina. The last minor league baseball team to play before the Generals were the Fayetteville Highlanders of the Carolina League, they ceased play aft ...

for three seasons from 1994 to 1996. In 1995, he led them to a first-place finish (86–55). In 1996, the team's record dropped to 76–63, though they won the second-half division title. For his work with the Generals, Lowry was named the Detroit Tigers Player Development Man of the Year. In 1997, Lowry was assigned to manage the

Jamestown Jammers The Jamestown Jammers were a minor league baseball team based in Jamestown, New York from 1994 until 2014. The team was the Short-Season A classification affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates and played in the New York–Penn League. The team pla ...

of the

Class A Short Season Class A Short Season (officially Short-Season A) was a level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States from 1965 through 2020. In the hierarchy of minor league classifications, it was below Triple-A, Double-A, Class A-Advanced (cre ...

New York–Penn League The New York–Penn League (NYPL) was a Minor League Baseball league that operated in the northeastern United States from 1939 to 2020. Classified as a Class A Short Season league, its season started in June, after major-league teams signed th ...

Family and posthumous honors

On July 10, 1997, Lowry died of a heart attack at age 39 after collapsing outside his home in Jamestown, New York. Lowry and his wife Pamela had two daughters (Sesilie and Amanda) and one son (Zachary). In 1997, the Detroit Tigers renamed the Player Development Man of the Year Award as the Dwight Lowry Award in his honor. Lowry had won the award in 1996. He was inducted into the South Atlantic League Hall of Fame in 1998.

References

External links

Baseball GaugeSABR BioProject ArticleTigersCards.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lowry, Dwight 1957 births 1997 deaths Baseball players from North Carolina Birmingham Barons players Detroit Tigers players Evansville Triplets players Indianapolis Indians players Lakeland Tigers players Leones del Caracas players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Lumbee people Macon Peaches players Major League Baseball catchers Minnesota Twins players Minor league baseball managers Nashville Sounds players North Carolina Tar Heels baseball players People from Lumberton, North Carolina Portland Beavers players St. Petersburg Pelicans players Toledo Mud Hens players University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni American expatriate baseball players in Italy Grosseto Baseball Club players