According to the biography in Elywnn Brockway’s “The Roar of
the Mighty Midgets”, Vito Calia saw a midget race while in
Indianapolis, Indiana on his honeymoon and decided then and
there to become a racer.
On June 9, 1935 the green flag fell on the first midget
race ever held in Kansas City and Vito was in the field.
Two years later he won his
first feature in an Elto powered car built by Tudy Gulotta and
owned by Calia.
Calia
became a six time champion at that tough Kansas City Olympic
Stadium (1938-40-41-42-49 under KCMARA and 1952 under the AAA
banner).
Calia won over 62 features from 1937-1954 in the Kansas
City/Springfield, MO area. He also won another dozen around
the St. Louis circuit including two at Walsh Stadium. He was
second in the first AAA National Midget Championship in 1948
behind Roy Sherman.
He was most proud of his performance at the Bainbridge,
Ohio 100-mile race on the dirt mile in Louie Cangelose’s #38.
Louie wanted Vito to pit, but after looking at the blackening
sky Vito elected to stay out. A few laps later the rain came
giving the team a 2nd place finish.
Vito was badly injured at Walsh Stadium in 1942 then
returned to many more victories. He died in 1987 at the age of
76.
