. Frank “Cannonball” Richards - Punching Bag
Frank Richards was a carnival and vaudeville performer. He started his
career in 1932 and featured one of the most usual acts in sideshow history,
which included taking massive blows to the stomach. Early in Frank’s life he
took to letting his teenage friends punch him in the stomach. Richards act
included allowing spectators to jump on his stomach and absorbing blows from
a two-by-four and sledgehammer. He famously took body shots from former
heavyweight boxing champion Jack Dempsey. Finally, in a feat Richards
would forever be remembered for, he took to being shot in the belly with a 104
pound cannonball, fired from a spring loaded cannon. All reports indicate that
there were no gimmicks at work during his performances.
Frank developed an incredible immunity to physical trauma and his act would
likely have killed or severely injured an average man. Nothing like “Cannonball”
Richards has ever been seen since his disappearance from the sideshow
performance scene. The date surrounding the birth and death of Frank
Richards is not known by public records.