Among the first
group of men inducted into the National Midget Auto Racing
Hall of Fame in 1984, Templeman became the first three-time
National Midget Champion by winning the title in 1956, ’57 and
’58. Until he placed third in the 1959 national point battle,
Templeman had been the United States Auto Club’s only
Champion.
Templeman started his career in the Northwest and won the
Washington State Midget Championship five times and the Oregon
title three times. He was a crowd favorite at the famous 16th
Street Speedway in Indianapolis where he won all three “Night
Before the 500” midget features in 1956.
One of his best-remembered rides was the Ashley Wright-
owned Kurtis-Kraft roadster midget, which was patterned after
the famous Indianapolis car chassis.
Shorty raced in the Indianapolis 500 on five occasions,
placing 4th in 1961 and 11th in 1962. He was fatally injured
in a midget race at Marion, Ohio in 1962.
