The story of Frank Richards nickname "Cannonball" (5 photos + 1 video)

Frank "Cannonball" Richards became famous for his incredible stunt, in which he would stand in front of a cannon and take a 100-pound cannonball on his stomach. How did he survive such a blow?





Frank Richards was born in 1887 in Minneapolis. The boy had a cheerful disposition since childhood, and besides, he loved to be the center of attention. He also had one feature that brought him fame back in school - he did not feel pain when hit in the stomach.

How is this possible? As they say, Frank won the genetic lottery. A small anomaly in his oblique abdominal muscles meant that his abs could withstand much greater loads than the average person's abs.



Frank Richards

Frank realized quite early that in this regard he was very different from other people. And he began to make money on it. At first, he was beaten up at school, then he began performing in various shows, where he was hit in the stomach with boxing gloves, sledgehammers, battering rams, and so on.

All of Minneapolis was proud that a man with a cast-iron stomach lived in the city:).

World fame came after the First World War. After serving in the army, Frank Richards returned home and got a job at the Vaudeville Circuit Circus. There he performed a solo stunt as a man with an iron belly.





Legendary boxer Jack Dempsey in training

What they didn’t do with Frank Richards’ belly! They beat and battered him with all sorts of objects. Famous boxers were invited, and they used Frank Richards as a punching bag. Once, boxing star Jack Dempsey delivered 77 punches in a row to Frank Richards’ belly. And he didn't care...

For reference. Jack Dempsey is a legendary boxer with a unique left hook. The power of Dempsey's left hook was compared to the kick of a mule's hooves. It is no coincidence that Dempsey was nicknamed "Manassa Bonebreaker".

And in 1932, Richards came up with his famous trick with a cannon shot. He stood just a couple of meters from the cannon, and they shot him in the stomach with a 45 kg cannonball.



Cannon for the trick

When the cannonball hit Frank's stomach, he was thrown back several meters and fell onto specially prepared mats. But then Frank would stand up and greet the audience as if nothing had happened. The trick was a huge success, and Frank Richards would become known as the "immortal" man.



Frank Richards

But I don't use the word "trick" by accident. Can anyone withstand a shot from a real cannon? Of course not. The cannon for the trick looked like a real one, but in fact the cannonball was fired by a powerful spring. The smoke was fake, as was the sound of the shot.

The audience might have guessed that the cannon was a circus cannon, but every performance by Frank was still accompanied by a roar from the crowd. As Frank admitted in one of his interviews, it was his favorite sound in life.

It is surprising that despite such difficult trials, Frank Richards lived to be very gray and died at the age of 81 at home.

Here is the story of one of the famous circus performers of the 20th century…