William Lawrence Schindler (March 6, 1909 – September 20, 1952) was an American

racing driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including non ...

Racing career

Schindler began racing in 1931 in a

sprint car Sprint cars are open-wheel race cars, designed primarily for the purpose of running on short oval, circular dirt or paved tracks. Historically known simply as "big cars," distinguishing them from "midget cars," sprint car racing is popular primar ...

. He was racing

midget cars Midget cars, also Speedcars in Australia, is a class of racing cars. The cars are very small, with a very high power-to-weight ratio, and typically use four-cylinder engines. They originated in the United States in the 1930s and are raced on most ...

on the East Coast of the United States at their introduction in 1934.Biography
at the

National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame The National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame is an American Hall of Fame and museum for midget cars. The Hall of Fame is located at Angell Park Speedway in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, and can be accessed during weekly Sunday races during the summe ...

Schindler lost his left leg from above the knee while racing in a Champ car race in 1936 at Mineola, Long Island. He is one of three drivers to have participated in the Indianapolis 500 with a

prosthetic leg In medicine, a prosthesis (: prostheses; from ), or a prosthetic implant, is an artificial device that replaces a missing body part, which may be lost through physical trauma, disease, or a condition present at birth (congenital disorder). Prosthe ...

, along with Al Miller and

Cal Niday Calvin Lee Niday (April 29, 1914 – February 14, 1988) was an American racecar driver who was born in Turlock, California and died in Lancaster, California. Biography He lost his leg in a motorcycle accident after high school, but it did not af ...

. Schindler was part of a group determined to keep the

AAA AAA, Triple A, or Triple-A is a three-letter initialism or abbreviation which may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Gaming * AAA (video game industry) - a category of high budget video games *'' TripleA'', an open source wargame Mu ...

out of the East Coast in 1937. He was elected president of the "outlaw" group. Schindler briefly switched to the AAA in 1940, and won the Bronx Coliseum Indoor championship. He returned to his "outlaw" past when he was named the president of the newly formed

American Racing Drivers Club The American Racing Drivers Club (ARDC) is an open-wheel midget car racing sanctioning body that operates primarily in the Mid-Atlantic area of the United States. History The American Racing Drivers Club was organized in 1939, making it one of the ...

(ARDC). He served as president for the club's first six years. Schindler won ARDC championships in 1940, 1945, 1946 and 1948. In both 1947 and 1948 he won 53 midget car feature races, which helped bring popularity to midget car racing in the Northeastern United States. Schindler rejoined the AAA so he could race in the

Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly shortened to Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indian ...

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 ...

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the Uni ...

, and

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Cairo Fire, Black Saturday in Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, ...

World Drivers' Championship career

The

/ USAC-sanctioned Indianapolis 500 was included in the FIA

World Drivers' Championship Formula One, abbreviated to F1, is the highest class of open-wheeled auto racing defined by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), motorsport's world governing body. The "formula" in the name refers to a set of rules to which a ...

from 1950 through 1960. Drivers competing at Indianapolis during those years were credited with World Drivers' Championship participation, and were eligible to score WDC points alongside those which they may have scored towards the

/ USAC

National Championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

. Schindler participated in three World Drivers' Championship races at Indianapolis. His best finish was 13th place, and he scored no World Drivers' Championship points.

Death

Schindler died in a

sprint car racing Sprint cars are Open-wheel car, open-wheel race cars, designed primarily for the purpose of running on short Oval track racing, oval, circular dirt track racing, dirt or paved tracks. Historically known simply as "big cars," distinguishing them fr ...

crash in

Allentown, Pennsylvania Allentown (Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Allenschteddel'', ''Allenschtadt'', or ''Ellsdaun'') is a city in eastern Pennsylvania, United States. The county seat of Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh County, it is the List o ...

, in 1952. Schindler was leading the race on the third lap when a car driven by Paul Becker lost a wheel and skidded into the fence. He did not see the "go slow" sign that was immediately waved after Becker's crash and his black

Offenhauser The Offenhauser Racing Engine, or Offy, is a racing engine design that dominated American open wheel racing for more than 50 years and is still popular among vintage sprint and midget car racers. History The Offenhauser engine, familiarl ...

hit the wheel, crashed through the fence and tumbled down a 20-foot embankment. He was killed instantly.

Awards and honors

*He was inducted in the

National Sprint Car Hall of Fame The National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum is a hall of fame and museum for sprint car drivers, owners, mechanics, builders, manufacturers, promoters, sanctioning officials and media members. The museum is located in Knoxville, Iowa, the h ...

in 1998. *He was inducted in the

in 1985. *He was inducted in the

New England Auto Racers Hall of Fame The New England Auto Racers Hall of Fame is a hall of fame for racing-related people in the New England region of the United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primari ...

in 2004.Biography
at the

, Retrieved October 2, 2007

Motorsports career results

AAA Championship Car results

Indianapolis 500 results

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schindler, Bill 1909 births 1952 deaths Indianapolis 500 drivers Racing drivers who died while racing National Sprint Car Hall of Fame inductees Sports deaths in Pennsylvania Sportspeople from Middletown, Orange County, New York Racing drivers from New York (state) AAA Championship Car drivers 20th-century American sportsmen