More than £4,000 raised for BHF in memory of Tameside football legend

The children of a legendary Tameside non-league football manager have raised £4,300 for the British Heart Foundation (BHF) to mark what would have been his 65th birthday.

Benito Lowe and Zoey Wager are the son and stepdaughter of the late Gary Lowe, whose exploits at Curzon Ashton and Hyde United are still celebrated by both clubs. 

Gary died in October 2020 from a heart attack at the bar he ran in Spain after retiring from management. 

26-year-old Benito, an ex-Curzon, New Mills and Bury footballer who now plays for Avro, will run 20 miles today between all three clubs where his dad was manager. 

He’ll start at Stockport Sports Village, where Gary was in charge of Woodley Sports, before visiting Curzon’s Tameside Stadium, Hyde’s Ewen Fields and rounding off at his dad’s memorial bench at Saddleworth Cricket Club in Greenfield. 

Zoey, who gave birth to Gary’s first grandchild a week before his death, is pedalling the same distance on an exercise bike. 

The cricket club will also hold a charity fundraiser for the BHF today, which will double-up as a belated wake. 

“Unfortunately, with Gary passing away during the pandemic, we never got to have a wake for him, but we’re rectifying that!” said his son-in-law, Gaz Wager, who is a semi-pro defender for Bacup Borough. 

Lowe managed Curzon for 11 years, leading the 9th tier side to the 2nd Round of the FA Cup in 2008 after they famously beat Exeter City 3-2. 

Goals from Chris Worsley, James Ogoo and Mike Norton put the Nash 3-0 up against the League Two, before Exeter made it a nervy finish with two late goals of their own.  

They lost 2-0 at Kidderminster Harriers in the next round. 

Lowe joined Hyde in the summer of 2011, winning his first ten games in charge before guiding the club to the Conference North title at the first attempt. 

It lifted the Tigers to what is now the National League for the first time. However, a contract dispute with the club’s then-owner, saw him leave along with his assistant Martyn Booty, while mooted high-profile jobs at Macclesfield and Stockport County never materialised.  

A former pro footballer, Gary was on the books of both Manchester City and Crystal Palace, before spells at Hereford United, Cheltenham Town, Stalybridge Celtic and 17 appearances for Hyde in the mid-80s.