The Scholarly Warrior: The Boxing Life of Stuart Finer

Stuart Finer lived a remarkable life. He attended Harvard at a time when the institution actively tried to reduce Jews enrollment. While at Harvard, he joined the boxing team, fighting formidably for the Crimson at intercollegiate meets. After college, he served in the U.S. Army during World War II and liberated Dachau.

*****

Stuart Finer was born on July 7, 1914 in Boston, Massachusetts to Hyman Bertram Finer and Henrietta née Stener. Born in London, England, H. Bertram worked as a store clerk and then made his money in real estate. Henrietta was born in the Austrian-Hungarian Empire in an area that is now part of Poland. The couple married in Boston in 1901 and had a daughter named Mildred in December the following year.

Stuart, born eleven and half years after Mildred, grew up in Brookline, Massachusetts, a suburb that borders Boston's western boundary. The Finers were among a wave of Jews who moved from Boston to Brookline, which became the new religious center of the area by the 1930s. In 1911, Brookline had just enough Jewish males to hold a minyan for the first time. The Jewish population rapidly rose to 7,500 Jews by 1930.

For high school Stuart attended Boston Latin Academy, which sent more graduates to Harvard than any other secondary school at the time. According to Michael Feldberg, "Urban public schools such as Boston Latin Academy intensely prepared their students, many of whom were Jewish, to pass Harvard's admissions test."

Harvard president A. Lawrence Lowell viewed the relatively high percentage of Jews attending his university as a problem. From 7% enrollment at the turn of the century, the population of Jews in the freshman class twenty years later had tripled. In 1922, Lowell proposed a quota on Jews at Harvard. His proposal was rejected, but a workaround was created. Harvard instituted an admissions policy that promoted "geographic diversity," meant to bring in a higher percentage of white Protestant students. The policy worked. By 1931, the year before Stuart gained admission, the Jewish population fell to 15%.

The unofficial quota system made Stuart's entry into Harvard all the more impressive. While at the Ivy League institution, he melded mind with might by joining the university's boxing team.

Stuart Finer

Intercollegiate boxing in the 1930s was divided into freshmen and varsity teams. Freshmen results were rarely printed, so Finer's first year is a mystery. Once he made the varsity team as a sophomore, his coach became Henry Lamar.

Lamar had boxed professionally as a heavyweight from 1925 until 1931, when he accepted the position of varsity boxing coach at Harvard. "I decided that professional boxing and Harvard didn't go together," said Lamar of giving up his career in the ring. Harvard first offered boxing the year before Lamar joined.

Finer fought as a bantamweight, which was 115 pounds in college in those days. The toughest bantamweights Harvard would face during Finer's tenure were Penn State's Russell Criswell and Virginia's Archie Hahn, Jr. Criswell won the Eastern Intercollegiate 115-pound title three years in a row and placed second during the 1936 NCAA championships. Hahn, Jr. was the son of a legendary three-time Olympic gold medal-winning sprinter.

But Stuart had stiff competition on his own campus that year. Only one fighter represented each school at each weight for each meet or tournament. Harvard had two senior bantamweights, Thomas "T.J." Curtin, who was undefeated, and captain Marshall Lamb, a 125-pounder who could make 115 when needed. Finer spent most of his sophomore year on the bench.

When Harvard faced the University of Virginia in January of 1934, Lamb moved down to face Hahn and lost. Eight fighters from each side faced off, and Virginia won the meet 6-2 (six UVa fighters and two Harvard fighters won in the eight-bout meet. Each side would've gotten 0.5 points had there been a draw). Finer finally got his chance against one of the Norton brothers of M.I.T. on March 13. The winner was to face Criswell at the Eastern Intercollegiate boxing championships. Finer won, but Harvard announced T.J. Curtin would represent the school at the tournament. Coach Lamar ultimately changed course and tapped Lamb to fight at bantamweight in the tournament, finishing third.

With Lamb and Curtin graduating, Finer was Harvard's top bantamweight heading into his junior year. On December 15, 1934, he beat Thomas Norton of M.I.T. to open the season. Harvard won the meet 7-1.

Finer, described as "fast and strong for a bantamweight," was expected to fight Hahn, who had become UVa's co-captain as a senior, on January 12, 1935. Instead, Coach Lamar chose James Kostarelos, a "hard hitter" making his varsity debut. It was a mistake. Hahn stopped Kostarelos a minute and 52 seconds into the second round. Virginia won the meet 6-2 in front of 6,000 fans.

On February 16, Army gave Harvard a drubbing. Finer beat Army's bantamweight- a fellow named Beard. Stuart was the only Harvard man to win a bout as Army won the meet 6.5-1.5.

The next month, on March 10, Finer beat Frank Newman of Yale. Coach Lamar taught his boxers to throw a prolonged combination featuring a jab, right cross, left hook, and then to throw a little counter right on the inside. Finer used that trademark combination to neutralize Newman's early aggression. Finer's victory helped Harvard salvage a draw with Yale in the meet.

Five days later at State College in Pennsylvania, Finer beat Phil Norton of M.I.T. in the preliminaries of the Eastern Intercollegiate boxing championships in front of 7,000 fans. In the semifinals, Finer faced defending champion Russell Criswell. Criswell won the tournament the next day. 

The next year, though a senior, Stuart still had to earn a spot on the squad. He beat out fellow senior Alexander Valois and sophomore James Garrett to compete against M.I.T. on December 13, 1935. Finer again beat one of MIT's Norton brothers. Harvard swept the meet 8-0. It was the beginning of a magical season for the Crimson.

On January 11, 1936, Harvard competed against UVa. Virginia boasted a 30-meet win streak in team competition. Stuart had been passed over the previous two years against Virginia. In 1936, Coach Lamar again went in a different direction, picking Valois as Harvard's bantamweight against UVa. Valois won and helped Harvard snap Virginia's win streak by the score of 4.5-3.5.

By the time Harvard faced Penn on February 8, Finer was described as "among the outstanding performers" on the undefeated squad. Harvard beat Penn 5.5-2.5 to keep their undefeated season alive. After squeaking by the Coast Guard the next week, 4.5-3.5, Harvard rolled over Princeton 8-0 on February 21. The Tigers didn't even field an opponent against Finer, who won by walkover.

Harvard beat Army 6-2 before tying Yale 4-4. The tie was so controversial Harvard severed boxing ties with Yale as a result. Finer hoped for a trip to the Eastern Intercollegiate boxing championships once again and dreamed of revenge against Criswell. In 1936, the Eastern title meant a spot in the NCAA championships, held every four years in conjunction with Olympic qualifying.

Alas, Coach Lamar chose Valois as Harvard's bantamweight entry. He made it to the final where he lost to Criswell. Criswell finished second in the NCAAs two weeks later.

H. Bertram and Stuart playfully boxing

After an impressive college boxing career, Stuart earned a BA from Harvard later than spring and received his diploma on June 18, 1936. After school, Finer worked for an advertising agency. Boxing would remain a varsity sport at Harvard for only one more season. Lamar transitioned to coach of the freshmen football team where he'd later guide the four Kennedy boys: Joe, Jack, Bobby, and Ted.

Japan's attack against Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 forever changed Stuart Finer's life. He enlisted in the U.S. Army on January 27, 1942. "He served in the European theatre and toward the end of his service, he was told to lead a team out to a compound of some kind," recounted Vermont's current Governor Phil Scott in a 2015 speech commemorating veterans. "The officers didn't know what it was, and wanted to find out. Riding along in a Jeep, the group saw a line of boxcars stopped on railroad tracks. Then they heard soft noises coming from the cars.

"This young man got out of the Jeep to go investigate, opened the door and was buried under a pile of bodies. Two men stayed behind with the train while this young man led the rest of the group to the compound, radioing back: 'Send us help. We don't know what we have here, but it's bad. Send help.' When the Jeep drove up to the compound, it turned out to be a huge camp surrounded by barbed wire. This young man, who was Jewish, witnessed many horrific events that day he arrived at Dachau and told this story of the day he helped liberate a concentration camp only once- to his granddaughter, who is my chief of staff. He passed away a year later. His name is Stuart Finer."

Finer was promoted to Captain during his tour and came back home on September 28, 1945. After the war, Stuart married Betty and the couple had two children, Barry and Deborah. Stuart rose to the position of president of W.H. Simonson Co., a manufacturer of non-carbonated beverages in Woburn, Massachusetts. After retirement, he taught English as second language classes at Brookline High School.

He died of cancer on February 17, 1998 at Suburban Hospital in Bethesda, Maryland. He was 83 years old. The Harvard-educated war hero was survived by his son, daughter, four grandchildren, and the descendants of all those he liberated from Dachau who wouldn't have known life if not for Stuart Finer.

Sources
"44 Will Compete in College Boxing." New York Times. Mar. 12, 1934. Pg. 26.
"Boxing Team Battles with Tech." The Harvard Crimson. Dec. 13, 1935.
"Cadets Subdue Harvard." New York Times. Feb. 17, 1935. Pg. S1.
Effat, Louis. "Penn State Boxers Gain College Title." New York Times. Mar. 17, 1935. Pg. S1.
Feldberg, Michael. "Anti-Semitism in the U.S.: Harvard’s Jewish Problem." Jewish Virtual Library. 
"Harvard Boxers Score." New York Times. Dec. 16, 1934. Pg. S2.
"Harvard Boxers Score." New York Times. Feb 22, 1936. Pg. 10.
Hindert, Patrick and Mark R. Rasmuson. "Intramural Meet Recalls Glory of the Ghosts of Boxing's Past." The Harvard Crimson. March 4, 1969.
"Kaplan Triumphs in College Bout." New York Times. Mar. 16, 1935. Pg. 11.
Linfield, H.S. "Statistic of Jews-1929." The American Jewish Year Book, Vol. 32.
"Minor Week-end Sports." The Harvard Crimson. Feb. 8, 1936.
Reeves, Bruce M. "Intercollegiate Boxing Used to Be Popular." The Harvard Crimson 
Scott, Phil. "Ask Our Veterans to Tell Us Their Stories and Pass Them On." Targeted News Service. Nov. 23, 2015.
"Stuart Finer, 83, Headed of Beverage Firm." Boston Globe. Mar. 4, 1998. Pg. D15.
"Varsity Boxers Draw Bout with Yale, 4 to 4." The Harvard Crimson. Mar 11, 1935.
"Varsity Fighters Annihilate Tech with Score of 8-0." The Harvard Crimson. Dec. 14, 1935.
"Virginia Conquers Harvard at Boxing." New York Times. Jan. 13, 1935. Pg. S4.
"Virginians Set for Harvard Ringmen." The Washington Post. Jan. 11, 1935. Pg. 19.
"Yale and Harvard Draw in Boxing, 4-4." New York Times. Mar. 10, 1935. Pg. S2.

Special thanks to Stuart Finer's granddaughter Rachel Feldman, who brought her Popop's story to my attention, provided information and pictures, and confirmed aspects of the research.

Joshua Feldman to Fight in September

Fresh off a disappointing cancellation of his last fight, 20 year old prospect Josh Feldman is scheduled to fight on September 20. Feldman will be looking to improve to 4-0.

Feldman was moments away from making his debut on the streaming platform DAZN when his opponent, Welcome Malumbu, pulled out of the fight. He had hoped to show the fruit of months of preparation to a worldwide audience, but the late cancellation pulled the rug right out from under him.

Feldman's previous fight was nearly cancelled when his opponent came in drastically underweight. The opponent gained the necessary poundage and the fight took place with Feldman winning by TKO. The last two scheduled fights have been a rude wakeup call for Josh as to just how fickle the world of boxing can be.

Feldman has transformed his frustration into motivation as he looks to continue his winning ways next month.

Yonatan Landman Scores a First Round TKO

Yonatan Landman won his fifth pro fight with a first round demolition of Hussein Mashaka at Magereza Hall in beautiful Zanzibar, Tanzania last night. He has won all of his fights by knockout.

Mashaka came out of the starting blocks aggressively, but his punch technique was lacking. Landman stayed composed under fire and landed a right to score a knockdown. Mashaka showed poor punch resistance and became overwhelmed just as Landman started to put his punches together. Mashaka slunk to the canvas and quickly shook his head, indicating he no longer wanted to continue. The ref waved off the fight a minute and 21 seconds into the contest.

The fight took place in an outdoor ring on the island of Zanzibar. Boxing had been banned on the island for sixty years, coinciding with independence in 1963, and was just reinstated last year. Mashaka, a resident of Tanzania, falls to 3-7-1.

Hollywood Champ: The Confusing Legacy of Mushy Callahan

Mushy Callahan held the junior welterweight world championship for nearly three and a half years and after his boxing career ended, he trained the biggest Hollywood stars on the sets of their movies. Yet among fans of Jewish boxing, Callahan isn't revered like Benny Leonard nor is he admired like Barney Ross. Though his championship reign was long, it was hampered by several factors: the "synthetic" nature of his crown, his losses in over-the-weight bouts, and his propensity to duck the toughest challengers. His conversion to Catholicism after his career also contributed to Callahan's fallen star within the Jewish boxing community.

*****

Vincent Morris Scheer was born on November 3, 1904 in New York to Jewish Austrian parents named Max and Anna. The family moved across the country to Los Angeles and settled in Boyle Heights when Vincent, who was known as Moishele, was two years old. Max sold produce near the intersection of Brooklyn Ave and Soto. Meanwhile, young Moishele got into a lot of fights. He resented when other kids called him "Maurice" and had no problem showing them with his fists. After a while, no one wanted to call him Maurice anymore, so he soon developed the nickname of Mushy, which would stick for the rest of his life. As a youngster, he worked as a newsboy, a profession that required boys to fight each other for access to the best corners.

At the age of ten, Scheer joined the Main Street Gym, which was also known as the Newsboys' Club. He fought in a lot of smokers and took the surname Callahan from a local fight promoter. His childhood friend, future Olympic gold medalist and two-time world champion Jackie Fields, remembered, "Mushy Callahan was the greatest. We were raised together selling papers. But he was always the big shot."

Once evening, Fields wanted Mushy to get him tickets to a show at the Orpheum. "When I asked him to get me two tickets he said, 'Get in line, you punk you.' So we almost had a fight on the street," Fields said.

Callahan turned pro in 1923 and quickly became a hot prospect. The next year, he dropped a couple of decisions to Johnny Adams, a very popular fighter in Los Angeles who was good, but not great. Callahan didn't hit many other bumps in the road on his climb to the top, though. He beat a quality veteran in Red Herring, took two ten-round decisions from former lightweight world champion Jimmy Goodrich, and went 1-0-1 against a world class opponent named Ace Hudkins.

The first fight against Hudkins, which took place on September 16, 1925, was one of the most exciting battles in L.A. that year. Most observers felt referee Larry McGrath's decision to call it a draw was fair, but Callahan and his team vehemently disagreed. Willie Goldstein, who worked Callahan's corner, climbed through the ropes and attacked McGrath, receiving a hard left hook from the ref in return. Callahan and his manager E.W. Sears were both fined and suspended until December. McGrath was also suspended. Goldstein was banned for life.

Callahan won the rematch and then took the two fights against Goodrich. He was extremely popular among fight fans in Los Angeles. His July 5, 1926 fight against Jack Silver, a fan favorite from San Francisco, was billed as a clash between Southern California and Northern California. Coincidentally, Silver, like Callahan, was a Jewish fighter who would convert to Catholicism, work in Hollywood after his boxing career was done, and have a long and distinguished career as a referee.

In one of the biggest fights in California since bouts of over four rounds were legalized at the start of 1925, Silver dominated Mushy over ten rounds. A month later Callahan lost to another good fighter, Baby Joe Gans. Despite, or maybe because of, the two losses, Callahan got a shot at junior welterweight champion, Pinky Mitchell. "Mitchell figured I was washed up," Callahan said years later. Mushy destroyed Mitchell, nearly knocking him out in then tenth and final round. "Everything I did was perfect," Callahan said. "One of those perfect fights."

Mitchell had held the title since its inception in 1923. Purists saw it as a "synthetic" title, a worrying addition to the traditional eight weight classes. In fact, the belt would basically become abandoned from 1935 until 1959.

After a few wins in non-title bouts, Callahan dropped a decision to Spug Myers. Though Myers was over the weight limit, Callahan was 140 pounds, so today he would have vacated his belt after the loss. He next fought undefeated beast Andy DiVodi at Madison Square Garden with the title on the line. "My biggest thrill came when I fought Andy DiVodi," Mushy said. "The New York papers were full of DiVodi, a big favorite, who was undefeated... I knocked him out in the second round."

Callahan was a wild-swinging fighter. "He had a funny way of throwing a one-two," Jackie Fields recalled. Mushy wasn't known as a knockout puncher, which made the win against DiVodi all the more impressive. He then avenged his loss to Spug Myers in his second title defense. A year after the loss to Silver, Callahan appeared to be a fighting champion who would risk his title against the best. He'd soon prove otherwise.

On July 12, 1927, at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Sammy Baker wrecked Callahan, punishing the champ's body to win by ninth round TKO. Both men were over 140, so Callahan remained champ. A loss to Dick Hoppe, a decent local fighter, made Mushy look like a paper champion. His manager claimed he was sick for the Hoppe fight.

His old friend Jackie Fields offered $25,000 if Callahan would risk his junior welterweight championship. Callahan refused, so they fought for the unofficial title of Jewish champion of Boyle Heights. "I kicked the hell out of him," Fields said. "That was the first time I ever bet on myself. I bet five hundred dollars on myself and we won it. He never spoke to me for years afterward. That was a great win because of being in the neighborhood and around our friends."

Still champ, Callahan had now lost three fights in a row. Boxing experts didn't even rate the champion as the #1 junior welterweight in their rankings, which was highly unusual. He avenged his loss to Hoppe and beat a couple of other mediocre fighters before losing some more. Callahan was 2-5-1 in his last eight fights, making zero title defenses in that span. Two years after his last defense, he finally put the title up against Fred Mahan. A deaf-mute, Mahan was more inspirational than great. Mushy stopped him in the third round.

Callahan lost to Goodrich before losing to Jack "Kid" Berg. On February 18, 1930, Callahan finally agreed to defend his title against a real contender when he faced Berg at Royal Albert Hall in London, this time with the title at stake. Joe Jacobs promised Mushy $10,000 for the fight. "He said I'd get ten thousand," Callahan lamented. "I never got ten thousand. When I got paid off, I only got five thousand." Jacobs, the promoter for Callahan-Berg II, was the manager of Max Schmeling.

"Over there I saw the handwriting on the wall," Mushy confided. "I couldn't possibly win the fight. He butted me in the eye and my eye started to puff up." It eventually closed and Callahan requested the referee to stop the fight in the tenth. As champ his middling record was 16-10-1, putting his title up for grabs just four times in nearly three and half years.

After two years off, Callahan fought thrice more. His final record was 49-16-3 with 22 KOs.

After his fighting career was over, Callahan began training Hollywood stars on the art of pugilism to prepare them for roles in boxing films. He worked with Elvis Presley, James Earl Jones, Kirk Douglas, and Errol Flynn, just to name a few. In the movie Gentleman Jim, Callahan served as a body double for Flynn in the fighting scenes. He worked as a referee at a high level in the Los Angeles area for nearly thirty years. He was a boxing judge for nearly twenty.

In 1934, he married Lilian Hill and converted to Catholicism.

Jews have been described as a race, a religion, a people, a tribe, and a nation, but the best way to describe us is a large family. We may argue, disagree, fight amongst ourselves, just as any family might, but we feel an indelible connection with one another. When someone chooses to leave our family, many of us take it hard. Fair or not, it's feels like a personal affront. While Benny Leonard and  Barney Ross stood up for Jews, Callahan, whose son would become a priest, left our family.

On June 14, 1986, world champion and Hollywood star Mushy Callahan passed away at the age of 80.

Sources

Blady, Ken. The Jewish Boxers' Hall of Fame. 1988.

"Callahan Out Until December." Los Angeles Times. Oct. 6, 1925. Pg. B1.

Curcio, David. Smash Hit: Race, Crime, and Culture in Boxing Films. 2023.

Heller, Peter. "In This Corner...!" Forty-two World Champions Tell Their Stories.1994.
Silver, Mike. Stars in the Ring: Jewish Champions in the Golden Age of Boxing. 2016.

Addition information from the Hank Kaplan Archives, Brooklyn College.

Daniel Ivanovski to Face Wondon Hughes in September

Daniel Ivanovski is scheduled to fight Wondon Alonzo Hughes Jr. on September 7 at the Kentucky Center for African-American Heritage in Louisville, Kentucky, USA. Both fighters will be making their pro debut.

Ivanovski is a skilled and talented boxer from Israel. He effectively controls center ring and works behind a crisp jab, adding a sharp right hand. In 2022 at the U-22 European amateur championships, he scored two-standing eight counts against Czechia's Pavel Hrivnak but lost the decision 4-1. Hrivnak was able to counter over the top, particularly when Ivanovski occasionally pawed with the jab.

Hughes is a 29 year old from Kalamazoo, Michigan who lost his father as a kid. Hughes doesn't seem to have amateur much boxing experience, so he's a real wild card.

This bout is scheduled for four rounds in the cruiserweight division.

David Malul to Fight Lucien Hannah in September

David Malul is scheduled to fight Lucien Hannah on September 14 at the Paramount Theatre in Huntington, New York. Malul will be making his debut while Hannah is 0-1.

Malul is a 21 year old from Queens, New York. Legendary matchmaker Ron Katz, who is putting the card together, describes him as a "tough kid, very green." Katz joked he wanted the founder of The Jewish Boxing Blog to serve as Malul's opponent, which would've give David a slight height advantage.

Instead, the 5'5" Malul will be at a significant height disadvantage since Hannah, a 29 year old, stands at 6'2". Though Hannah has only been boxing for a little over a year, his skills suggest he has more experience. Originally from South Carolina, the transient Hannah sold drugs until he found solace in boxing. He fights out of legendary trainer Cus D'Amato's old gym in Catskills, New York. When he first came to the gym, he was homeless and sleeping in his car in the parking lot. Coach Ernest Westbrooke saw him working out and said, "I noticed he had natural athleticism."

In his first pro fight on June 15, Hannah showed that natural ability at the beginning of his fight against Jason Moreno. Lucien came out and threw a crisp one-two. He effectively worked Moreno's body with two-punch combinations and managed to keep distance. Towards the end of the first round, Hannah's inexperience came to the surface, and his technique deteriorated. Moreno was able to get inside and shake up Hannah.

Moreno got credit for a knockdown in the second round, even though it was more of  takedown. When Hannah got up, Moreno got back inside and landed hard body shots and then stunned Lucien. The fight was waved off as Hannah was unsteady on his feet.

It's no secret Malul will want to get on the inside, but he won't be able to just walk in, at least not early in the fight. Fortunately, David described his style as "strategic aggression," which is exactly what he'll need against the lanky Hannah. It'll be important for Malul to control his debut-fight jitters, try to jab his way in, and attack the body once he's there.

This junior middleweight bout is scheduled for four rounds.