American minor league manager and retired professional baseball player Garry Lewis Templeton was born on March 24, 1956.
From 1976 to 1991, he was a shortstop in Major League Baseball, playing for the St. Louis Cardinals, San Diego Padres, and New York Mets. He wore jersey number 16 for the San Diego Padres.
Templeton, who was born in Lockney, Texas, was acclaimed as one of baseball’s top players early in his career, which included nominations to the All-Star Games in 1977 and 1979.
Templeton made history in the latter year by becoming the first switch-hitter to accumulate 100 hits from both sides of the plate, a feat only twice more accomplished by Willie Wilson in 1980.
He had the most hits for the Cardinals in 1977, 1978, and 1979. He raised some eyebrows in 1979 when he wasn’t chosen to start at shortstop for the National League All-Star team despite having higher statistics than either Dave Concepción or Larry Bowa, two of the top shortstops in the National League at the time.
He was selected as a reserve for the team, but he declined to go. Templeton continued to work in the sport as a coach and minor league manager after ending his career as an active player in 1991.
He managed four teams in the Anaheim Angels system from 1998 to 2001, going 294–272. He was the manager of the Northern League’s Gary Railcats from 2003 to 2004, then in 2005, he took over as manager of the Fullerton Flyers of the Golden Baseball League.