Joe Goddard (25 November 1857 – 21 January 1903) was an Australian

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: * Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing *Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

known for his great strength, durability, and punching power. He stood 6' 0" (185 cm) and weighed 12 stone 12 lbs to 14 stone 4 lbs (180-200 pounds, 82–91 kg). He was one of the first reported Heavyweight Champions of Australia. Among the men he defeated were

Joe Choynski Joseph Bartlett Choynski (; November 8, 1868 – January 24, 1943) was an American boxer who fought professionally from 1888 to 1904. Boxing career "Chrysanthemum Joe", the son of a Jewish Polish immigrant who settled in California in 1867, wei ...

, Peter Maher, and "Denver" Ed Smith. His (incomplete) record comes out to: 28 wins (22 by

knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, muay thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, a ...

), 12 losses, 8 draws, and 6 no decisions. Goddard was shot in the head by a police constable whom he had attacked with a baseball bat during a fight at the Republican primaries in Pennsauken Township,

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

in July 1902. After spending two months in hospital he recovered sufficiently to be released with the bullet still in his head, only to be arrested for having assaulted the constable and imprisoned when unable to put up $1,000 bail. He was said to have lost his sanity a few days later and transferred to Blackwood Insane Asylum, residing there until December, when he was taken to Cooper Hospital, where he died on 21 January 1903. His body was donated to the Philadelphia Medical College for scientific research. Goddard was the 2006 Inductee for the

Australian National Boxing Hall of Fame Australian National Boxing Hall of Fame was founded in 2001 and began inducting boxers into the Hall of Fame in 2003. Since then annual induction dinners have been held across Australia. Inductees are nominated and then voted upon by a panel of ...

Pioneers category.

Professional boxing record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Goddard, Joe 1857 births 1903 deaths Heavyweight boxers Australian male boxers