The Washington times., 1923-12-20

The story of how Goddard won
his "sleep-walking" championship is
one for the book. The amusement
it has caused Franks fellow Brit
ishers should forever silence the
canard that Britcns cannot see a
joke.
With the passing of Joe Beckett
via the Carpenter route, the Brit
ish heavyweight title was in sus-
pense, as 1t were. Nobody had the
nerve to call Joe champion any
longer, and there was no one else In
sight as legitimate heir apparent.
So Goddard and Jack Bloomfield
decided they would fight for it.
In the first round of the fight
Goddard made q tactical error. lie
rushed at Bloomfield and was So
far off balance that his weight
carried Jack to the floor. Cod
dard extended his left hand to help
deck rise, and, as Bloomfield was
coming up, pasted him with his
right. Such tactics peeVed Bloom
field.
In the second round Bloomfield
found the button with a stiff right,
and Frank rooted his nose in the
resin. He started to rise. and
Bloomfield. remembering what had
been done to him in the first round
brushed the referee carelessly aside
and caressed Franks nose with a
none too gentle wallop. The ref
cree, while Goddard was assem-
bling his badly scattered wits, took
occasion to warn Bloomfield.
Almost Immediately. however,
Bloomfield returned to the fray and
punched the bewildered and stag
gering Goddard to the canvas again.
Now Goddard was on the floor.
The birds were singing, the stars
were twinkling. and the merry
bells were ringing for him. One
more flip Of the referees arm and
he would have been counted out.
But at the count of nine he forgot
all previous experiences and grew
restless in his sleep. He started to
regain his feet for a somnolent
tour of the ring. and Bloomfield
hit him again before he could stand
straight on his wabbling pins.
Frank sank back on the mat
again-this time thoroughly and
successfully slapped to sleep. The
referee, however, was impatient
by this time with the way Bloom
field was acting, and so he dis
qualified him for hitting his OPP
pOnent In q manner contrary to
the well-knOwn Queensberry regu.
latiOns.
They carried Frank out of the
ring and into his dressing room.
Eventually the world came back,
and Franks trainers told him that
he was the champion. A boxer, as
thoroughly licked as 1t Is possible
for a man to be. further out than
the twelve-mile limit and sound
asleep when the show closed, woke
up and found himself the wearer
of pugilistic crown.
Shakespeare remarked that "sleep
knits up the raveled sleeve of care, I"
but 1t isn't doing anything like
that for Frank. He now has to
| worry about what will happen when
he has to meet Bloomfield again:
as boxing fans already are demand
ing that he shall. The title is he
coming a plain nuisance to Frank.
1t Is understood however, that part
Of his training for his next fight
will include perusal Of a textbook
on How to Lie Still when Knocked
Out" said to have been written by
that ,well-known expert, Joe Bee
kett.
Meanwhile Britons are indulging
in rueful laughter at this latest
fiasco of their heavyweights. They
had become used to Beckett, but
his passing revived hopes that they
would now see a few heavyweights
In action that could be taken seri-
ously. The Rloomfield.God GODDARD muss
dispelled that hope,