Sheldon Arthur "Shelly" Saltman (August 17, 1931, in Boston – February 16, 2019, in Los Angeles) was a promoter of major sports and entertainment events including the worldwide promotion of the Muhammad Ali / Joe Frazier heavyweight championship boxing matches, creating the Andy Williams San Diego Golf Classic and helped to arrange the independent NFL Players Association games during the 1982 NFL season strike. Saltman was perhaps best known to the public as the man who Evel Knievel tried to beat to death with a baseball bat in 1977. Saltman created, wrote, and produced shows for television such as Pro-Fan, Challenge of the NFL Cheerleaders (an early "reality" show), and the film Ring of Passion about the fights between American boxer Joe Louis and German champion Max Schmeling in the years leading up to World War II. He was also the author of various books including Evel Knievel on Tour, with Maury Green, and FEAR NO EVEL: An Insider's Look At Hollywood with Thomas Lyons. Early years Shelly Saltman grew up during the Great Depression years as the child of Russian and Ukrainian Orthodox Jewish parents in Cambridge, Massachusetts. His father, Nate Saltman, was involved in Boston area politics. Sports Saltman's father and an uncle, Louie, both played football for the Boston Braves (today, the Washington Commanders); another uncle, Eddie, pitched for the Boston Braves baseball team; and his uncle Miltie played for the Philadelphia Athletics (today, the Oakland Athletics). Saltman spent much of his childhood playing sports, attending Boston Red Sox and Boston Braves baseball games, and attempted to play professional basketball. Saltman became a professional sportscaster and play-by-play announcer under the name of "Art Sheldon" with a career that included stints as a basketball coach, a baseball umpire, and a boxing ring announcer. He was among the founders of several professional and amateur sports organizations including the Phoenix Suns and the New Orleans Jazz basketball teams, and he was the first President of Fox Sports. Saltman handled the worldwide promotion of the Muhammad Ali-Joe Frazier boxing championships, was co-creator of the 1970s "Challenge of the Sexes" TV shows, a key promoter and business partner in the failed Snake River Canyon rocket-cycle jump by motorcycle daredevil Evel Knievel, and for a time managed the careers of such sports stars as Canadian NHL hockey player Wayne Gretzky and American boxing champion Thomas Hearns. Entertainment After serving in Japan as a