Major L. Goodsell (1 July 1900 – 31 March 1988) was an Australian who five times won the professional World Sculling Championship.
His parents were Charles James Goodsell, born 1874 Sydney, and Ada née Lang.
In 1917 he married Ruby Eliza Myers in Sydney and they had at least one son (Keith Major Goodsell, b.
Goodsell was an up-an-coming sculler and had won the New South Wales amateur championship before turning professional.
Goodsell challenged McDevitt and the race was run on the Clarance River near Ullmarra on 21 March 1925.
Very shortly afterward, Goodsell was challenged by a New Zealand sculler named Pat Hannan.
Paddon at age thirty-nine was nearing the end of his career and failed to make any sort of "come-back" and the Champion won easily in a time of 22m.50s.
Goodsell won the toss and took the favoured southern side of the course which was about three and a quarter miles long.
A return match between Barry and Goodsell was arranged to be run on 6 December 1927 and this race was also held on Burrand Inlet.
Goodsell managed to source sufficient backing for a purse large enough to entice Phelps to cross the Atlantic for a race.
Evening Post newspaper, 2 and 9 Feb 1924, 25 Oct 1924, 4 May 1926, 29 Nov 1926, 6 Sep 1927, Championship Rowing History https://web.archive.org/web/20110217091832/http://www.rowinghistory-aus.info/world-pro-sculling/index.php