Bill Schindler

Competitor
CLASS OF 2004

Bill Schindler began racing in 1931, and defined the sport of auto racing during his 21 years career. From his beginnings in a sprint car, then moving into the Eastern midgets, and eventually competing in the Indy 500, Schindler was a fierce competitor up and down the east coast. In fact, he won more midget races than any other competitor. In eight successive seasons he won six Eastern Championships and finished second twice.

Driving for car owner Mike Caruso in the Caruso Offy, Bill logged 53 feature wins in 1947 and repeated the exact same total in 1948. Schindler dominated the midgets in a time when they often ran seven or eight times a week. Typical weeks included visits to tracks like Cherry Park in Avon on Sunday, Candlelite Stadium in Bridgeport on Monday, Patterson, NJ on Tuesdays, Buffalo, NY on Wednesday. Then it was back to West Haven on Thursdays, Stafford on Friday, and Century Stadium in West Springfield closed out the week on Saturday.

The majority of Schindler’s racing career was spent driving with only one leg, after an accident at Mineola, L.I. in 1936 caused doctors to amputate his left leg above the knee. He was crowned “King Doodlebug”, a national popularity contest, six times.

Schindler was a leader both on and off the track wherever he raced. He served as president of the American Race Drivers Club for their first 8 years of it’s existence (1939-1946) and won 4 ARDC series championship (1940, 1945, 1946, 1948).

Starting in 1950, he competed in 3 straight Indianapolis 500 races, which was sanctioned by AAA at the time. He won a AAA race at the Illinois Fairgrounds in 1952.

Bill Schindler died from injuries sustained during a wreck at the Allentown Fairgrounds on September 20, 1952. Schindler is also a member of the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame.