Carl Shimkin
Graduate of Stuyvesant High School, with a BFA in Film/Video from California Institute of the Arts.
Carl has worked in the field of sports in many capacities including as a freelance sports journalist for the last 10 years. He was the author of a popular Baseball blog “Inside Pitch” for MLB and for 5 years created and hosted two successful podcasts, “Baseball Talk” and “MMA Outloud” Blogtalkradio and WGBB 1240 AM. His articles have been published in USA Today, the LA Daily News, the LI Newsday, the NY Post, as well as various online publications (Yankees.com, MLB.com, Deadspin.com, Armchair GM, etc.). His original research has been used in multiple books including “Howard Cosell: The Man, the Myth, and the Transformation of American Sports” by Mark Ribowsky; “Steinbrenner: the Last Lion of Baseball” by Bill Maddon; and “Rickey & Robinson: The True, Untold Story of the Integration of Baseball” by Roger Kahn.
He has also worked on and off in the film/TV industry for the past 20 years as an editor and associate producer of small independent projects. Two of his greatest experiences in the industry were studying with Academy Award winning director Alexander Mackendrick, and working with legendary director Bob Altman. He has been a member of the Screen Actors Guild for the past 20 years.
Carl spent over a decade recovering and re-organizing a working music catalogue of his father’s legacy, which included the Little Golden Record’s Library. Arthur Shimkin was the founder and producer of many successful children’s record labels, including Little Golden Records, Bell Records and Sesame Street Records.
He met Jake LaMotta when he collaborated with him and his wife Denise Baker on a stage cabaret show called “Lady and the Champ”. He developed a close relationship with them and began shooting footage for a documentary at the end of 2011.
He currently works for MLB Advanced Media in the Statcast/Pitch FX department and is also enrolled in a Nursing Program at BMCC as he pursues his Bachelors of Science.
Carl resides in NYC, where he has lived most his life.
Jake LaMotta
Jake, who will turn 95 on July 10th, is the oldest living World Boxing Champion alive today. He won the World Middleweight title in 1949, beating French fighter Marcel Cerdan (Edith Piaf’s lover). He grew up living a delinquent’s life in the streets of Philly and New York. He learned how to fight in Coxsackie’s reform school for boys.
He helped make Madison Square Garden the Mecca of Boxing in the 1940’s; became entangled with and the influences of the American Mob and had to throw a fight (famous Billy Fox fight) to become a World Champion; first man to beat Sugar Ray Robinson (considered by most including Ali to be the greatest boxer that ever lived); had 6 epic battles with Sugar Ray Robinson including the famous St. Valentine’s Massacre of 1951; was known for his iron chin having never been knocked down in 106 fights (was actually knocked down once in his second to last fight).
He was the first witness called at the Kefauver Hearings in 1951 that uncovered the influence of Organized Crime in America, and popularized the legend of the “Mafia” at a time when the FBI didn’t even admit there was such a thing as the Mob or Cosa Nostra; served 6 mos. in prison for allowing the solicitation of prostitution from his club Jake’s place in the early 1960’s; wrote his autobiography called “Raging Bull” in 1970; sold his life right’s to the book to United Artist’s in mid 1970’s and then worked with Robert DeNiro and Martin Scorsese on the making of his life story in the film “Raging Bull” (Robert DeNiro won his only Best Actor award for playing Jake in this film); Jake was married 6 times possibly 7; had 6 children possibly 7. LaMotta has also studied acting and been performing on and off in his own cabaret for the past 8 or nine years.
