The 6 ft (1.83 m), 180 lb (82 kg) Lown received his nickname as a child because of his fondness for eating turkey.

[3] His baseball career was interrupted by World War II, serving in the US Army as an infantryman seeing action in the Battle of the Bulge and receiving the Purple Heart.

[4] In November 1950, he was selected by the Chicago Cubs in the Rule 5 draft making his major league debut on April 24, 1951.

[2] For his career, Lown compiled a 55–61 record in 504 appearances, mostly as a relief pitcher, with a 4.12 earned run average, 73 saves and 574 strikeouts.

Lown did not give up a run in three appearances in the 1959 World Series loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers.