Harry Greb
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| Harry Greb | |
| Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Real name | Edward Henry Greb |
| Nickname | The Pittsburgh Windmill |
| Weight | Middleweight |
| Nationality | American |
| Birth date | June 6, 1894 |
| Birth place | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| Death date | October 22, 1926 |
| Style | orthodox |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 299 |
| Wins | 261 |
| Wins by KO | 48 |
| Losses | 21 |
| Draws | 15 |
| No contests | 2 |
Harry Greb (born Edward Henry Greb on June 6, 1894 in Pittsburgh; died October 22, 1926) to Pius and Annie Greb was a boxer. He was World Middleweight boxing Champion from 1923 to 1926 and American Light Heavyweight title holder 1922 - 1923. He fought a recorded 299 times in his 13 year-career, against the best opposition the talent-rich 1920's could provide him, frequently squaring off against light-heavyweights and even heavyweights. He is believed by many ring historians to be one of the greatest pound-for-pound fighters in history - if not the greatest.
Though no films of Greb in action are known to exist, contemporary accounts describe him as a highly aggressive, very fast, swarming style of fighter who buried his opponents under a blizzard of punches (the fact that he threw so many punches so quickly is the reason why he scored only 48 KOs in 299 recorded bouts - to land a punch with maximum power requires one to plant one's feet, to be momentarily still, something that 'the Human Windmill' rarely was in the ring). Greb was also a master at dirty fighting and had no qualms about employing all manner of dubious tactics, such as spinning his opponent and using the heel and laces of his gloves. The 'Pittsburg Wildcat' was also very durable, suffering only two stoppage losses, one a KO defeat very early in his career and the other a retirement due to a broken arm.
[edit] Biography
Greb began his pro career in 1913, fighting mostly around his hometown of Pittsburgh. By 1915, he was fighting world class opposition, notably hall of famer Tommy Gibbons and reigning middleweight champ George Chip, whom he faced twice during the years 1915-1916 in non-title fights. Greb would lose both fights by newspaper decision (at the time, the rendering of an official decision at the end of a fight was prohibited), losses he would later avenge.
Greb would fight 37 times in the sole year 1917, winning 34 of those fights either officially or unofficially. Among his victims that year were the reigning light heavyweight champion Battling Levinsky (in a non-title fight), former light heavyweight champion Jack Dillon, middleweight George Chip and heavyweight Willie Meehan, who had beaten future champ Jack Dempsey earlier in the year.
Despite all these great results, Greb was still denied a chance to fight for a title. A February 1918 newspaper loss to Mike O'Dowd, who would go on to win the middleweight title during the year, didn't help in his effort. After that setback though, Greb would go unbeaten for over two years. During that stretch, he would beat future light heavyweight champion Mike McTigue, heavyweight contenders Gunboat Smith, Billy Miske and Bill Brennan, and defeat Battling Levinsky no less than five times in newspaper decisions. Levinsky was the reigning light heavyweight champion at the time.
In 1921, during a fight with tough light heavyweight Kid Norfolk (real name William Ward), he was thumbed in the right eye and suffered a detached retina, which permanently blinded him in that eye (Greb would later lose some of the vision in his good eye and his gradual loss of sight led him to always go to bed with the light on). But Greb fought on, and he finally got a shot at a title.
On May 23rd, 1922, Harry Greb was matched with Gene Tunney, the undefeated American Light Heavyweight Champion (The World title was then in the hands of Frenchman Georges Carpentier). At the end of fifteen rounds, Tunney was a bloody mess and Greb was champion.
After defending his title against Tommy Loughran, Greb granted Tunney a rematch. In a hotly-disputed battle, fought at Madison Square Garden in February 1923, Tunney regained his title by decision. The two men would meet three more times, with Tunney successfully defending his regained title in another fifteen round bout and then splitting a pair of no decision battles (Greb got the nod of two of three local newspapers in the fourth bout while Tunney easily won the fifth, after which, Greb told Tunney that he didn't want to fight him again). Tunney would go on to beat Jack Dempsey for the heavyweight title. Greb remained the only man ever to have beaten Tunney, and the latter would be among the pall-bearers at Greb's funeral.
One month after losing his light heavyweight title to Tunney, Greb faced Johnny Wilson for the World Middleweight Title, with Greb winning a comfortable 15-round decision. Greb would defend the title four times, most notably against reigning welterweight champion, Mickey Walker, whom he outpointed in July 1925. Walker, a great fighter who would win the middleweight title the following year, stumbled upon Greb at a nightclub after their fight, and according to the legend, fought an impromptu rematch there.
At 32, Greb was past his prime when he was matched with tricky southpaw Tiger Flowers in Madison Square Garden in February 1926. Flowers, a defensive specialist, countered the Smoke City Wildcat's attacks well and won a disputed decision after fifteen rounds to annex Greb's middleweight title. Flowers beat Greb again in their rematch six months later - on an even more controversial decision - in what was Greb's last fight.
Around that time, Greb had second thoughts about his career, and began to claim he had retired following the second Flowers loss. Having declined a job as Jack Dempsey's sparring partner in preparation for Dempsey-Tunney I (Greb declaring: "I'd feel like a burglar taking Jack's money. Nobody can get him in good enough condition to whip Gene" -- And he was right), Greb checked into an Atlantic City clinic for surgery to repair damage to his nose and respiratory tracks caused by his ring career and several car crashes. However, complications occurred and he died on October 22, 1926 never waking up from the anesthetic.
His official career record was 106 wins and 8 losses with 3 draws, but including newspaper decision wins brings his tally to about 260 wins in around 300 fights.
[edit] Ring honours
- American Light Heavyweight Champion - 1922-23
- World Middleweight Champion - 1923-26
- First class inductee to the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990.
