caption death_date death_place birth_place nationality birth_date known_for image article_title name death_cause
depalma 1912 with his riding mechanic tom alley in august 31 march 1956 south pasadena , california biccari , italy italian-american 18 december 1882 1915 indianapolis 500 ralphdepalmatomalleyelginil.jpg ralph depalma
 ralph de palma cancer
ralph depalma

raffaele `` ralph '' de palma -lrb- december 18 , 1882 -- march 31 , 1956 -rrb- was an italian-american racecar driving champion who won the 1915 indianapolis 500 .
his entry at the international motorsports hall of fame estimates that he won about 2,000 races .
depalma won the 1908 , 1909 , 1910 , and 1911 american aaa national dirt track championships and is credited with winning 24 american champ car races .
he won the canadian national championship in 1929 .
depalma estimated that he had earned $ 1.5 million by 1934 after racing for 27 years .
he is inducted in numerous halls of fame .
he competed on boards and dirt road courses and ovals .
