Born in Lockney, Texas, Templeton was hailed by many as one of the best players in baseball early in his career, which featured All-Star Game selections in and. In the latter year, Templeton made history as the first switch-hitter to collect 100 hits from each side of the plate, a feat achieved only once more by Willie Wilson in 1980. His total of 211 hits led the National League, and with 19 triples, he led the league for a third consecutive season. He led the Cardinals in hits in 1977, 1978, and 1979. He caused some controversy in 1979 when, despite having better numbers than either Dave Concepción or Larry Bowa, two of the National League's premier shortstops at the time, he wasn't selected to start at shortstop for the National League All-Star team. He was named to the team as a reserve, but refused to go. in 1980 The quote, "If I ain't startin', I ain't departin'" regarding the 1979 MLB All-Star Game is often mistakenly attributed to Templeton over his refusal to play. In reality, Jack Buck, Cardinals sportscaster at the time made the statement. He continued to hit well in and ; however, he was not popular with Cardinals fans. The situation with the home fans came to a head when, during an August 26, 1981, home game in St. Louis, Templeton made an obscene gesture twice to some fans who had allegedly been heckling him after he had failed to run to first on a ground ball; managerWhitey Herzog physically pulled Templeton off the field following the incident. After the end of the season the Cardinals traded him to the Padres for Ozzie Smith. The trade was welcomed by everyone involved: Smith was a light-hitting defensive wizard going to a team which needed to improve its defense, while Templeton was a better hitter going to a team which needed to improve its offense. In his ten years with the Padres, he played in 1,286 games, while having 1,135 hits, 43 home runs, 427 RBIs, and a.252 batting average, with one Silver Slugger Award win and one All-Star Game appearance in 1985. He was named team captain of the Padres by manager Larry Bowa in 1987, serving as captain for four years. 1991 was his final season in the majors. He played in 32 games for the Padres before being traded to the New York Mets on May 31 for Tim Teufel; he played in 80 more games for the Mets for a total of 112 that year. He hit for.221 with three home runs and 26 RBIs in the season. Templeton was inducted into the San Diego Padres Hall of Fame on August 8, 2015.
Managing career
After his retirement as an active player in 1991, Templeton remained in the game as a coach and minor league manager. From 1998 through 2001, he managed in the Anaheim Angels organization for four teams, posting a 294-272 record. From 2003 to 2004, he managed the Gary Railcats of the Northern League, moving on to manage the Golden Baseball League's Fullerton Flyers in 2005. After three years with the Flyers, he would move on to manage the Arizona Winter League's Palm Springs Chill in 2008, then would return to the GBL to manage the Long Beach Armada in 2009. He managed the Chico Outlaws to the GBL Championship in 2010. On January 8, 2013, Templeton was named manager of the Newark Bears of the independent Can-Am League.
