Mushy Callahan
| Mushy Callahan | |
|---|---|
Young Mushy Callahan
|
|
| Statistics | |
| Real name | Vincent Morris Scheer |
| Nickname(s) | The Fighting Newsboy |
| Rated at | Welterweight |
| Height | 5 ft 7.5 in (1.71 m) |
| Reach | 70 in (178 cm) |
| Nationality |
 American
|
| Born | November 3, 1904 New York City, New York |
| Died | June 18, 1986 (aged 81) Los Angeles, California |
| Stance | Orthodox |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 67 |
| Wins | 48 |
| Wins by KO | 21 |
| Losses | 16 |
| Draws | 3 |
| No contests | 0 |
Mushy Callahan (November 3, 1904 – June 18, 1986) was the ring name of Vincent Morris Scheer, a Los Angeles-based champion in the newly created World Light Welterweight Division for five years from 1926-30. The championship was formerly referred to as the World SuperLightweight Title. After his retirement from boxing in 1932, Callahan refereed hundreds of matches, and had a thirty-year career taking small roles in movies, most with boxing themes, as well as working as a stuntman and boxing adviser on movie sets.
Callahan was born Vincent Morris Scheer, on November 3, 1905, in Manhattan's Lower East Side. His father was a produce merchant. He took the ring name of Mushy Callahan, discarding his more ethnic-sounding name, as most Jewish boxers did at the turn of the century. He was nicknamed Mushy from his Hebrew name Moishe, or Moses. According to Callahan, he took his last name from an Irish fight promoter at his Newsboy's boxing club.
Callahan was a great counter puncher and possessed a fine defense. Though he could take a punch, his decline might be explained by the abdominal injuries he received in his July 27, 1927 bout with Sergent Sammy Baker which he lost in a ninth-round TKO. Callahan never fully recovered. He suffered from injuries to his hands as well early in his career.
His family moved to the heavily Jewish neighborhood of Boyle Heights District in Los Angeles from New York when he was two. He was into amateur boxing by ten, and when he finally started professional boxing in 1924, four rounds were the limit in California, so his progress in gaining experience was limited.
In 1925, when ten round fights were legalized in California, Mushy ran through a number of opponents including Russel LeRoy, and Pal Moran, knocking both out in three rounds. He also fought Red Herring, and Spug Myers. He defeated Ace Hudkins in ten rounds on November 14, 1925 in their second meeting in Vernon California, despite having broken bones in both hands. Callahan fought Hudkins to a draw in their first meeting on September 16, 1925, in Olympic Stadium in Los Angeles.
Two months before winning the Light Welterweight Championship, Callahan was defeated in an upset by Pacific Coast Lightweight Champion Jack Silver at Ewing Field in San Francisco on July 25, 1926.
On September 21, 1926, Callahan fought Pinky Mitchell for Mitchell's [List of lineal boxing world champions#Light welterweight|World Light Welterweight]] crown. Mitchell was the first champion Light Welterweight, a class created in 1922. At the time of the fight, he had held it almost continuously from its inception in 1922 until his fight with Callahan. At the time the two boxers met, few recognized the legitimacy of a championship in this weight class. Nevertheless, Callahan beat Mitchell over ten rounds in Vernon, California and won the title.
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