Career
He was an All-American college player at Purdue University and played two professional seasons in the National Basketball League (NBL), front-runner to the modern National Basketball Association. Downey played at Purdue from 1934 to 1937, earning second-team All-American honors from the Omaha World. He played the 1938-1939 NBL season for the Indianapolis Kautskys and the 1939-1940 season for the Hammond Ciesar All-Americans. He averaged 5.1 points per game over 37 NBL contests.
During & after his playing career, Downey coached the Greencastle, Indiana High School Tiger Cubs from 1938-1939 thru 1942-1943.
He died on January 30, 1976 at age 60.