It all started when a time travel experiment I was conducting...
went... a little caca.
In the blink of a cosmic clock, I went from quantum physicist
to air force test pilot,
which could have been fun if I knew how to fly.
Fortunately, I had help, an observer from the project named Al.
Unfortunately, Al's a hologram, so all he can lend is moral support.
Anyway, here I am, bouncing around in time,
putting things right that once went wrong,
a sort of time-traveling Lone Ranger with Al as my Tonto,
and I don't even need a mask.
Oh, boy.
You know, this leaping about in time has its advantages.
Like being able to reunite the love of my life with her father.
And even though I wasn't supposed to affect anyone in my personal future,
I figured the big guy upstairs would understand.
Then again, maybe he didn't.
Get up.! Get up, Kid.! One, two, three...
- Get up! Up! - Four, five, six,
Get up.! Up.! Seven, eight, nine
- That's it. That's it. - You okay, Kid?
Come on.
Come on. Stop it. Knock it off. Come on. Stop it.
Get back.
Go to a neutral corner. One, two...
Sorry, I... Go to a neutral corner.
Three, four, five,
six, seven, eight, nine...
You're out. The winner.
How about a statement? Turn this way, would ya?
Hey, everybody outta here. Give the Kid some air.
Chalky, get them outta here. You're fighting Tiger Joe Jackson in a week or two,
Out! Out! Chalky, have a heart come on.
Kid, Kid, we need one statement for the press. He'll talk to you later.
Now, come on. Give us a break here
What happened? You almost lost our last fight together, Kid.
Hold still. You know, I hardly touched him with that punch.
Funny how fast he went down.
You okay, Kid? You know where you are and everything?
Why wouldn't I know where I am?
Well, uh, he hit you pretty good.
- Too good, if you ask me. - What do you mean "too good?"
Hit the shower, Kid.
- You're right on time. - Promptness is a virtue. Congrat...
Congratulations on your victory this evening, Mr. Cody.
That surprise punch in the last inning-it was inspired.
"The last inning." Real good.
Your owners are a lot of laughs, Cody.
You sure Duke Ludden left Cody to you?
It was legally determined that he left some of his estate to Saint Mary's Church,
including Mr. Cody's contract.
What about my, uh, guys?
You kidding? Them nuns is poor as church mice.
We'll have that last be another time. Okay?
Uh...
Um, I suppose things are happening rather abruptly for you.
Uh, well, I'm getting used to it.
This is the north wall where the stained glass window will go.
The poor box here. Uh, that section over there is for feeding and shelter for the homeless.
And, finally, this area here...
The main chapel area, open to the poor 24 hours a day.
That way, God's available to anyone at any time.
Oh, it'll be so beautiful.
Just imagine the sun streaming through the stained glass window...
blues and golds and reds.
And the polished cherry wood of the pews and the golden tassels on the hymnals.
- Can't you see it? - But what's this got to do with me?
You're providing it. After all these years of prayer,
all we need now is for you to win your next prizefight.
Uh, Sister, um, I'm, uh... I'm not too good.
Don't be so modest, Cody. You won your last 10 fights. All by a knockdown.
Just... Just...
don't count on me too much.
I am counting on you. So are all the other sisters at Saint Mary's.
Cody, you are going to beat Tiger Joe Jackson...
and become the next California Heavyweight Champion.
Then we'll have enough money to start our chapel.
Sister Angela, I would strongly suggest that you hedge your bet.
Have faith, Cody. It's all going according to God's plan.
Yeah, but is God going according to Ziggy's plan?
He figured this leap would land you in Texas, somewhere in the mid-'50s.
- Oh, great. - That's the spirit.
Now, um, until you win, we're going to be scarce on funds,
so, we'd really appreciate it if you could move in with us
to save us on food and housing expenses.
Sounds better than rent control.
Uh, well... It's done then.
Why don't you go get your things, and I'll meet you back at Saint Mary's.
Have faith, Kid Cody.
You know, I have a feeling that between you and I
and a couple of guardian angels, we're gonna get this job done.
- Who, who does she remind you of? - Ingrid Bergman.
No. You.
You and me both back in the old days when we were trying to raise funding for the imaging chamber.
We were poring over the blueprints and that was our dream, you know?
Our chapel. Remember? Nah, you don't - you don't remember.
Oh, this is... Look at this.
"Sacramento, California". Yuck.
1974. Tell Ziggy that's a long way from Texas in the '50s.
Well, Ziggy figures it's just an unscheduled stop.
Well, in case you and Ziggy haven't noticed, they're all unscheduled stops.
The only thing I'm scheduled to do here is to get my brains knocked out.
- Don't fight. - What if that's what I'm supposed to do?
What if I'm here to win the championship so Sister Angela can get her chapel?
Well, then, uh... You're in big trouble, Sam.
Al? Am I boring you, Al?
I just...
I got this nut for a neighbor who sleeps all day,
and then at night he's rebuilding the engine on his car.
From 2:00 am, all I hear is vroom, vroom... vroom.
Okay, that's fine. Al...
He's got more holes in his muffler than you've got in your memory.
I complain, uh, this guy... Oh, yeah, and he's a big guy.
Tells me to blow it out my tailpipe. I don't know what I'm gonna do.
Hey, Kid? Hey, Kid.
Mr. Edwards wants to see you... now.
Come on.
What the hell were you doing in that ring today, Kid? Nothing.
That's what it looked like, nothing.
I won, didn't I? That's good.
That really is good. I didn't know you had a sense of humor, Kid.
Well, I, you know, I've been known to tell a joke or...
Turn it up.
In an attempt to become the second man in history...
to regain the World Heavyweight Championship...
The 32-year-old Ali will fight 25-year-old George Foreman in a 15-round bout with...
I put a couple of bucks of my own on that one.
Not as much as I'm gonna be betting on your championship.
I'm-I'm not sure that I'd do that.
What are you trying to tell me, Kid?
Well, I...
I've been thinking about retiring.
You know, I don't wanna end up...
Like, like...
"Charley, I could been a contender, instead of a bum."
Is that...
Quitting right now would be a bad idea.
Look, come on. You would-You-You'd-You'd kill a guy 'cause he wants to quit?
No, I don't kill people. What do you think I am?
We blow off your kneecaps,
give you a little, wooden board with roller skate wheels for the rest of your life.
You know, I think you're right.
I think... I think quitting would just probably be a bad idea.
Besides, I never could skate.
What'd you think? I was gonna set you up for 10 fights, let you retire now?
You're gonna go in the tank with Tiger Joe.
I'll tell you the round later. Now get outta here.
Here. Here's your money.
Hope you know what you're doing.
Great. I'm on the take, wear polyester clothes...
and live above a bar in an apartment decorated like a gym.
If I've got a roommate, he probably has cauliflower ears.
- Hello. - Hi, honey.
Oh. Honey, I'm sorry I didn't get to see the fight.
The creep I work for wouldn't let me off early.
A bunch of soldiers came in, and he made me dance an extra 45 minutes.
Are you hungry? I made your favorite for dinner tonight.
My favorite? Mm-hmm.
Oh, thanks. I really like my favorite.
It's my... It's... It's one of my favorites.
I see Mr. Edwards came through. I'm gonna put it in our secret "hidey-hole," okay?
Okay. Oh.
Soldiers tipped pretty good today.
Looks like we're ready for that rainy day.
Are you serious? We're gonna need about $20,000 for that doughnut shop.
You can't go on fighting forever, Kid.
And I certainly can't go on being a topless go-go dancer for the rest of my life.
The mountains are starting to come to Muhammad, you know?
Well, I-I, uh...
You look great to me. Mmm.
I love you, Cody.
You're the first man who's ever trusted me with his money and his future.
Oh.
- It's Roscoe. - Roscoe.
Damn it, Cody. You promised.
Hey, it's only three "C" notes, Dixie. It's not so much.
If that nag had come in, I'd be paying you guys eight grand right now.
Honey, did you try to get it all at once? Well.
Honey, you know the quick way never works.
Come on, Kid. You can't welsh on a bet.
He's right. We might as well pay him, otherwise he'll just wind up beating you up.
I'll get it.
Roscoe, you come between us and a jelly-filled,
sugar-glazed and sprinkles on top one more time...
and I'll bust your nose!
Oh.! Damn it. Oh, you broke my nose.
You want a beer?
Um, I don't have time.
What do you mean you don't have time?
Well, my contract was inherited-
I know. By the nuns. So?
Well, they want me to move in to Saint Mary's and train for the championship.
You know, to save money. You'd rather go live with the nuns than with me?
I... I don't know what to say, Dixie. Um, I...
They own me. Well, honey, I thought I owned you.
And you owned me.
Amazing grace
How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch
Like me
I once was lost
But now I'm found
Was grace that taught
My heart to fear
And grace
My fears relieved
How precious did
That grace appear
The hour I first...
Believed
Through many dangers
Al?
- Al? - Denise. Denise, get in the closet.
Oh, no, there's no other girl here, Tina.
I swear, honey. No, don't, Tina.
Tina?
- Oh, hi, Kid. - Hi, Al.
You know, people with monogamous relationships don't wake up with guilty consciences.
I know. They don't have any fun either.
Anyway, the problem is not Denise.
The problem is the muffler from hell.
This guy is driving me nuts with his vroom, vroom, vroom all night.
Denise? Yeah, she's a writer.
Uh, she's gonna write my life story.
A writer? What's she written?
Uh, I don't know. I met her at a party.
She's got the most incredible pair of...
Al. Al, you're in a church.
Oh. Of, uh, matching boxing gloves.
What'd Ziggy come up with? He says there's not enough data on this guy next door...
to do me a damn bit of good.
Oh, so-sorry. You meant you? Yeah.
Yeah, you. Mm-hmm.
Well, Ziggy thinks that given all the unknown variables here,
that your winning the championship and getting the chapel for the good sisters...
is your best shot at quantum leaping- What unknown variables?
Well, if we knew the unknown,
the unknown wouldn't be unknown.
Let me give you a few known variables, Al.
I don't know how to fight. I'm out of shape.
I've got a nun for a trainer. Yeah.
I can fix that. How?
I'll train you myself. Put 'em up.
No offense, Al, but I need a real trainer, not a hologram.
What are you talking about? Put 'em up.
Hey, when I was 16, back in the days when the dinosaurs ruled the planet,
I was the Golden Gloves regional champ.
Come on. Put 'em up. I'll train you myself. Come on.
Who could train you better than me? Put 'em up. You?
Yeah. Hit my hand.
Okay. I'll get you a sparring partner.
- All right? - It's not gonna work, Al.
What do you mean it's not... Hey, come on. Give it a chance, for crying out loud.
Where you going? To get a real trainer.
What do you mean, "a real trainer"?
Hey, who taught you everything you know?
I was good too.
Oop!
Here's your T.K.O., Kid.
Next time... next time, uh, let it breathe a little.
Why won't you train me?
I'm tired of training fighters who take dives.
Well, what if I don't take a dive? What if this time...
What if this time? That's the booze talking.
No, it's... No, it's me talking.
If you come back, I'll give it everything I got.
That's what I like to see, a fighter in training.
Hey, bring us another round for my guys.
Gotta keep 'em sharp for the championship.
Hey, Kid, you listen to him.
Yeah, this rumdum was one of the best.
He could take a swan into the canvas better than any other fighter I ever owned.
That last fight of yours-ooh-you should got an Academy Award.
You mean that, Kid? Kid? Huh?
You mean that? I'll give it my best shot.
You got yourself a trainer.
A pro shouldn't spar with an amateur.
Oh, Father Muldooney will love it. He'll be talking about it for years.
Can you give me some instructions? Yeah, don't trip on his beard.
Hi, honey!
Is it okay if I watch?
Uh, Dixie, this is Sister Angela.
Sister Angela, this is my Dixie.
How do you do? Hi. Oh.
Cody, I think you have enough people in your corner, huh? Are you ready?
Here you go. Come on. There you go.
Okay.
Hit to the right.
I'm really excited to be working with you, Mr. Gomez.
I've never done anything like this before.
Attaboy, left, left.
Get him! Did you change the Kid's style?
Huh? No. No.
In the breadbasket. Right in the belly.
- Watch out. - Come on, honey. Kill the bum.
Hit 'im! Hit 'im!
Kill the bum!
Honey, are you okay? Are you all right?
- Is he dead? Say something. - Honey?
Okay, watch out. Everybody out of the way.
Get 'im up.
Is he all right? Oh, I'm sorry, Kid.
I guess I just got in a lucky punch. Give us some room.
- I know what's going on here, Kid. - You do?
You haven't had a straight fight in a year.
You're out of shape, out of wind and out of luck.
You don't need a trainer. You need a miracle.
Let's pick it up for another mile. Pick it up?
Gomez made me swear that I would push you hard. Now, come on. Let's go.
Give me a break, Sister. Just five minutes.
How did you ever get to be a prize fighter? Just kind of fell into it.
All right. Five minutes.
But we're gonna walk fast.
Deal. We're not gonna lose our chapel because you were lax on your roadwork.
Why's this chapel so important to you?
That should be obvious by now, Cody.
Well, it seems to me there's more to it than that.
It's a long story. I got five minutes.
You have four minutes and 32 seconds.
I got four minutes and 32 seconds, 31, 30, 29...
All right. All right.
Well?
When I was a child, I, um... I lived in a castle.
What? A pretend castle.
It was actually a tree house in the backyard.
My mother and my brother used to call me a princess. I really felt like one.
And one night I went to sleep dreaming all these sweet dreams,
and I woke up coughing into the face of a fireman.
My mother and...
and my father and both my little brothers were killed.
For some unknown reason, I was spared.
So I was shuffled around for a while from uncle to uncle and...
it seemed I was a princess without a castle.
Um, some really bad things happened,
and I ended up out on the street doing whatever I could to survive.
I began to hate everybody. Even myself-even God.
And then one night, I... I kind of stumbled into this skid row chapel in San Francisco.
I was looking for a place to sleep, and a nun found me and she took me in.
And she... Well, maybe she didn't save my life,
but she absolutely saved my soul.
She gave me new hope and self-respect.
She even gave me faith in God again.
And I decided at that moment that I would create a chapel someday...
in the most destitute part of the city to help people like myself.
To make a memorial for my family.
Another castle.
Our time's up.
Come on. Let's get back to work.
Pick up those bricks. Okay.
She's trying to kill me. Five more miles?
Lift up your knees. What about mercy?
That's not bad, Kid. Al.
- What? - Uh, I'm done.
Work on your timing. I'll be with you in a minute.
Okay. Come on.
Al, it's good to see you. Where you been?
Mm... catching up on my sleep.
Looking pretty good, Sam. You're trim, moving well.
Gomez is doing a good job. Yeah, they both are.
Oh, um, Ziggy finally came up with some data for you.
The fight. Did Cody win the fight? He took a dive.
Are you sure?
Yes. October-when was it- 29, 1974.
"Kid Cody is knocked out by Tiger Joe Jackson in one minute, 10 seconds of the first round."
What about Sister Angela's chapel? No. No chapel.
"Today that vacant lot has got a, uh, mini-mall with a tanning salon,
"a convenience store that's been robbed five times already this year.
A singles... only gym"... She never got her castle.
No. Wait a minute though.
All you're giving me is what happened then. I'm here to change all that.
How? You gonna beat Tiger Joe for the championship?
- Why not? - I'll tell you why not.
You're holding your left too low, that's why not. Get your left up and pop! Pop, pop!
Get on the balls of your feet. That's it. Can't punch anybody flat-footed.
Th-That's what Gomez keeps telling me.
Well... Uh, anything else you wanna know?
- You gonna make it to the fight? - Uh, yeah.
Yeah, probably.
It, you know... It depends on whether I can do something to stop the...
The vroom-vrooming. You know, Al, I've been thinking about that.
What if you taped it at night and then played it back the next morning while he's sleeping?
That's a good idea.
Yeah. Thanks, Sam.
Okay, Kid, let's go.
Come on. Jab.
Richard Nixon, although pardoned, has become
the central figure in the Watergate cover-up trial.
Being accused by both prosecution and defense attorneys
Hey, where's your T.K.O.?
I'm in training. One beer a night. Yeah. That's what I heard.
Link here says you're training hard - like for real.
You aren't getting in the habit, are you, Kid?
Those are lethal weapons. You hit me. I can have you arrested.
No more jokes.
I'd rather see a fighter turn rumdum than to get religion.
Ooh, hey, look.
It's a streaker.
Oh, I got a couple of dames I'd like to see doing that.
Ah, now that's what it's all about.
A couple of guys ducking it out. May the better man win.
You're gonna take your dive in the first round.
Can't do that, Mr. Edwards.
You got cauliflower in your ears? I gotta win the championship.
You ain't got a prayer. Then bet against me.
For even money? Ha! I get 20-to-1 betting a round.
And the round is numero uno.
What if, um - What if I tell you what round to bet?
On you? No. No, I'm not that stupid.
This is crazy. We can get 20-to-1 betting the round.
Honey, this is our life savings.
God's on our side. We can't lose.
Of course, we have to share the winnings with the church.
You mean Sister Angela. For the chapel.
Well, I don't see you asking her to streak. I couldn't ask a nun to streak.
No. Just a tramp like me.
Dixie,
you're not a tramp.
You're a stripper. That's a profession.
So's hooking.
Don't do this.
Your streaking's the only chance I have to knock Tiger Joe Jackson out.
I need you, Dixie, to win.
And after that, it'll be nothing but...
jelly-filled, sugar-glazed, and, um-
Sprinkles on top. Yeah.
Sprinkles on top.
Cody?
Sister Angela.
What's wrong?
A Mr. Edwards was here to see you.
Edwards.
He couldn't stay, but he wanted me to give you a message.
He said that...
I wanna make sure I get this exactly right.
He said that he's thought it over,
and he's decided that he wants to call the rounds, not you.
You're supposed to take a dive in the first.
And he left this for you.
There's a thousand dollars in there.
I hope you don't think too badly of me for looking.
Sister Angela.
I thought that God sent me a champion.
But he sent me a cheat.
I don't expect you to believe anything I say, but I've gotta say it.
I'm not the Kid Cody whose fights were fixed for the last year.
And more important, I'm not the same Kid Cody...
who is gonna take a dive in the first round.
You're telling me you're going to win tomorrow? I'm damn well...
'Scuse me. I'm gonna try.
I would like to believe you, Cody.
But I can't.
I just don't think I can believe in anything anymore.
Then I don't have a prayer of winning.
What do you mean?
As long as you believed in me...
that I could win... I believed it.
I mean, maybe that's all winning is, having the right person believe in you.
Don't give up on me, Sister.
Not if you want that castle.
This is the main event of the evening. Twelve rounds for...
the Heavyweight Championship of the State of California.
The challenger in the blue corner to my left,
wearing white trunks with gold stripes, from Sacramento, California,
at 185, Clarence "Kid" Cody.
In the red corner, wearing gold trunks,
from Hawthorne, California, at 207,
the Heavyweight Champion of the State of California, Tiger Joe Jackson.
Now you both received your instructions in the dressing room.
Are there any questions? Uh, no.
- Touch gloves and may the best man win. - Get ready to take a nap, boy.
Who are you looking for, Kid? Just a friend.
Guess he couldn't make it. Wishing' you didn't? Go on, Kid.
Go get 'im, Cody!
- Cody, get up! - Two, three,
four, five, six,
- seven... - That's it.
- Come on, Cody! - Okay. Where you at?
Saskatchewan. Huh?
Sacramento.
- Come on, Cody. That's it! - That's the way, sweetie. Get 'im!
Come on, Cody!
Oh, no.
Now?
Look, it's a streaker.!
Helluva fight, Sam. Right on the button.
Al, I didn't think you'd show. Are you kidding? I would never miss a fight.
- Five, six. - Uh-oh, I think you made him angry.
Course I made him angry. I knocked him out...
Come on, now. Stay on the balls of your feet. Keep your guard up and pop him with the left.
Come on. Let's go. Pop, pop, pop with the left. Pop 'im! Pop 'im!
Pop, pop 'im again!
Downstairs! Bring his guard down! Get 'im in the gut!
Ain't this a kick in the butt.
Where'd that come from? God knows.
Keep it going. Hit my hand, Sam! Hit my hand!
Hit it! Hit it! Hit it!
Here come the jelly-filled, sugar-glazed and sprinkles on top!
We won. Yes. In the eighth round just like you predicted.
What are you talking about? Muhammad Ali.
We bet everything we had that he'd knock out Foreman in the eighth round in Zaire,
and he just did it a couple of seconds ago. That's the round...
you told Edwards to bet on. Uh-huh.
Only I didn't believe him. How'd you know, Kid?
Well, uh, when you're fighting for the Lord, you get inside tips.
It was fixed. It was fixed and somehow you got wind of it.
It wasn't fixed. Then how else would you have known?
Say I got a hunch and had faith.
Mm. I did too.
You and me had a deal. You were gonna go down in the first round.
Dixie.
Roscoe.
I got your money. It's just not here.
We bet all of our savings and...
the thousand dollars you gave me to take a dive on Ali in the eighth.
Roscoe here, he owes us a grand total of...
Forty-eight thousand dollars.
Twenty for us, 20 for Sister Angela's chapel and eight for you, Jake.
If that's not enough, I guess you're gonna have to kill me.
No.
Roscoe? Yeah?
Looks to me like you owe I and my partners here some money.
Yeah, well, okay. You take a check? Shut your face.
Oh, look, forget about it. I'm just kidding. I was telling a joke there.
Hey, I'm gonna go get the money. Dixie.
- Yeah? - Hurry back.
Okay.
Looks like you're gonna get your chapel.
And, there's gonna be a little extra.
I, um, I took the liberty of...
betting a little money, and, well...
I am so ashamed for doubting you.
Well, that's all right, Sister. You didn't doubt God.
But I did.
Last night in church, I gave up.
When I saw that man hit you and you fell down...
I just didn't believe in anything anymore.
But then when you got up, I saw that you were telling me the truth,
that you were really trying to win.
At that moment, all of my faith just came flooding back into my heart.
And I didn't care whether you won or lost, because you were really trying.
Thank you, Cody.
Thank you for my chapel.
Thank you for giving me back my faith.