The Man Who Could Take A Cannonball To The Stomach

Meet Frank ‘Cannonball’ Richards. In the 1920s, he put his ‘iron-clad-stomach’ to the test, encouraging spectators to jump on him and whack him with a sledgehammer. He even enlisting a heavyweight boxer to give it his best shot.

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Frank “Cannonball” Richards (February 20, 1887 – February 7, 1969) was a carnival and vaudeville performer whose act involved taking heavy blows to his stomach.

Richards began by letting people including heavyweight champion Jack Dempsey punch him in the gut.


He then progressed to letting people jump on his belly, being struck by a two-by-four, being struck by a sledgehammer, and finally being shot by a 47 kg cannonball from a spring-loaded 4 m cannon.Richards limited his cannonball act to twice per day, as performing it more often was too painful.