Lowe and Campbell Athletic Goods was a sports equipment manufacturer and retailer based in

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

until 1931 when it was acquired by

Wilson Sporting Goods The Wilson Sporting Goods Company is an American sports equipment manufacturer based in Chicago, Illinois. The company has been a subsidiary of Finnish multinational company Amer Sports since 1989, and is, in turn, now under the Chinese Anta Sport ...

. In the 1920s, the company, which was based at 15th and Baltimore in

Downtown Kansas City Downtown Kansas City is the central business district (CBD) of Kansas City, Missouri and the Kansas City metropolitan area. It is between the Missouri River in the north, to 31st Street in the south; and from the Kansas–Missouri state line east ...

, sponsored a series of

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

teams that were a powerhouse in

Amateur Athletic Union The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an amateur sports organization based in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. It has ...

at time when the AAU National Championships involved colleges, private athletic clubs, and factory-sponsored teams. In 1921, the team placed fourth in the AAU after losing to the

Kansas City Athletic Club The Kansas City Athletic Club is an athletic club and gentlemen's club in downtown Kansas City, Missouri. Notable members have included President Harry S. Truman and others. Founding The club was founded in 1887 by Arthur E. Stillwell as the Fa ...

(KCAC) in the semifinals, and then lost to the

Atlanta Athletic Club Atlanta Athletic Club (AAC), founded in 1898, is a private athletic club in Johns Creek, Georgia, a suburb 23 miles north of Atlanta. The original home of the club was a 10-story building located on Carnegie Way, and in 1904 a golf course was bui ...

36-31 in the playoff for third place. In 1922, the team won the AAU National Championship defeating the KCAC 42-28 in all Kansas City game title game held at

Convention Hall Convention Hall was a convention center in Kansas City, Missouri that hosted the 1900 Democratic National Convention and 1928 Republican National Convention. It was designed by Frederick E. Hill and built at the corner of 13th and Central and cos ...

in Kansas City. Its players included brothers George and Fred Williams, George Reeves, and George “Pidge” Browning won all AAU honors, and were then recruited to play for the KCAC which won the national title the following year. Another player on the 1922 team was Frederick J. Bowman who had served with

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...

with Battery D, 129th Field Artillery, 60th Brigade, 35th Infantry Division during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. During lunch Bowman would visit Truman at his haberdashery three blocks away by the Muehlbach Hotel. Bowman would go on to serve as president of Wilson Sporting Goods in 1951. The team reached the quarterfinals in 1931 but was eliminated by the KCAC.http://hoopedia.nba.com/index.php?title=Lowe_%26_Campbell It was also acquired by Wilson Sporting Goods that year.

References

{{reflist Sporting goods manufacturers of the United States Companies based in Kansas City, Missouri