| Harry Greb | |
|---|---|
| Statistics | |
| Real name | Edward Henry Greb |
| Nickname(s) | The Pittsburgh Windmill |
| Rated at | Middleweight |
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) |
| Reach | 71 in (180 cm) |
| Nationality | American |
| Born | June 6, 1894 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| Died | October 22, 1926 (aged 32) Atlantic City, New Jersey |
| Stance | Orthodox |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 304 |
| Wins | 261 |
| Wins by KO | 48 |
| Losses | 19 |
| Draws | 18 |
| No contests | 6 |
Harry Greb (June 6, 1894 – October 22, 1926) was an American boxer. He was World Middleweight boxing Champion from 1923 to 1926 and American Light Heavyweight title holder 1922–1923. He fought a recorded 303 times in his 13 year-career, against the best opposition the talent-rich 1910s & 20s could provide him, frequently squaring off against light-heavyweights and even heavyweights. Widely considered one of the best fighters of all time, Greb was named the 7th greatest fighter of the past 80 years by The Ring Magazine and the 5th greatest fighter of all time by Bert Sugar.
He had a highly aggressive, very fast, swarming style of fighting and buried his opponents under a blizzard of punches. 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. Greb often got as much as he gave and unbeknownst to the press continued to fight a number of matches even as he became blind in one eye, due to an injury suffered in an earlier match. The 'Pittsburgh Windmill' was also very durable, suffering only 2 TKO losses. The first was in his seventh bout and the second happened 3 years later when Greb broke the radius of his left arm. Greb finished the round but was unable to continue the fight.
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Born as Edward Henry Greb to Pius and Annie Greb, he began his professional boxing 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, so newspapers covering the fight would render a decision), losses he would later avenge.
Greb would fight 37 times in the sole year 1917 (a record), 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 is believed to have 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, winning by a KO in the eleventh round, and he finally got a shot at a title.
On May 23, 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. This was the only professional loss in Tunney's career.
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, as he saw that Tunney was better. The two became great friends). 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. Greb KO´d him easily.
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 tract 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.
Greb was buried at Calvary Cemetery, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
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. Some boxing historians consider Greb the greatest middleweight in history (he is also considered one of the 10 or 20 best light heavyweights of all-time, despite being a natural 160-pounder).
| 104 Wins (48 Knockouts), 8 Defeats (2 Knockouts), 3 Draws, 1 No Contest[1] | |||||||
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Type | Rd., Time | Date | Location | Notes |
| Loss | 104-8-3 | Tiger Flowers | PTS | 15 | 1926-08-19 | Madison Square Garden, New York, New York | For World Middleweight Title |
| Win | 104-7-3 | Allentown Joe Gans | UD | 10 | 1926-06-15 | Artillery Park, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania | |
| Win | 103-7-3 | Art Weigand | PTS | 10 | 1926-06-01 | Broadway Auditorium, Buffalo, New York | |
| Loss | 102-7-3 | Tiger Flowers | PTS | 15 | 1926-02-26 | Madison Square Garden, New York, New York | Lost World Middleweight Title |
| Win | 102-6-3 | Owen Phelps | PTS | 10 | 1926-02-12 | Capital City Arena, Phoenix, Arizona | |
| Win | 101-6-3 | Jimmy Delaney | PTS | 10 | 1926-02-03 | Oakland Auditorium, Oakland, California | |
| Win | 100-6-3 | Buck Holley | TKO | 5 (10) | 1926-01-29 | Legion Stadium, Hollywood, California | |
| Win | 99-6-3 | Ted Moore | PTS | 10 | 1926-01-26 | Los Angeles Arena, Vernon, California | |
| Win | 98-6-3 | Joe Lohman | PTS | 10 | 1926-01-19 | Omaha Auditorium, Omaha, Nebraska | |
| Win | 97-6-3 | Roland Todd | PTS | 12 | 1926-01-11 | Ricoh Coliseum, Toronto, Ontario | |
| Win | 96-6-3 | Soldier Buck | PTS | 8 | 1925-12-14 | Nashville, Tennessee | |
| Win | 95-6-3 | Tony Marullo | PTS | 15 | 1925-11-13 | Coliseum Arena, New Orleans, Louisiana | |
| Win | 94-6-3 | Tony Marullo | PTS | 10 | 1925-10-13 | Motor Square Garden, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | |
| Win | 93-6-3 | Pat Walsh | TKO | 2 (10), 1:05 | 1925-08-12 | Atlantic City Airport, Atlantic City, New Jersey | |
| Win | 92-6-3 | Ed Smith | KO | 4 (10) | 1925-08-04 | Kansas City Memorial Hall, Kansas City, Kansas | |
| Win | 91-6-3 | Otis Bryant | TKO | 3 (10) | 1925-07-31 | Floto Outdoor Arena, Tulsa, Oklahoma | |
| Win | 90-6-3 | Billy Britton | PTS | 10 | 1925-07-22 | Anti Horse Thief Association Stock Show, Columbus, Kansas | |
| Win | 89-6-3 | Mickey Walker | UD | 15 | 1925-07-02 | Polo Grounds, New York, New York | Retained World Middleweight Title. 1925 Fight of the Year by The Ring Magazine. |
| Win | 88-6-3 | Jimmy Nuss | KO | 4 (10) | 1925-06-05 | Palestra, Marquette, Michigan | |
| Win | 87-6-3 | Billy Britton | PTS | 12 | 1925-05-06 | Fairmont Arena, Columbus, Ohio | |
| Win | 86-6-3 | Quintin Romero Rojas | PTS | 10 | 1925-05-01 | Arena Gardens, Detroit, Michigan | |
| Win | 85-6-3 | Jack Reddick | PTS | 10 | 1925-04-24 | Arena Gardens, Toronto, Ontario | |
| Win | 84-6-3 | Johnny Wilson | PTS | 10 | 1925-04-17 | Commercial A.C., Boston, Massachusetts | |
| Win | 83-6-3 | Young Fisher | DQ | 6 (10) | 1925-02-23 | Town Hall, Scranton, Pennsylvania | |
| Win | 82-6-3 | Billy Britton | PTS | 10 | 1925-02-23 | Allentown, Pennsylvania | |
| Win | 81-6-3 | Johnny Papke | TKO | 7 (12) | 1925-01-19 | Weller Theater, Zanesville, Ohio | |
| Win | 80-6-3 | Augie Ratner | PTS | 10 | 1925-01-01 | Motor Square Garden, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | |
| Win | 79-6-3 | Frankie Ritz | TKO | 3 (10) | 1924-11-25 | Wheeling, West Virginia | |
| Win | 78-6-3 | Jimmy Delaney | PTS | 10 | 1924-11-17 | Motor Square Garden, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | |
| Win | 77-6-3 | Ray Nelson | KO | 3 (6) | 1924-11-11 | Midway Auditorium, Philipsburg, Pennsylvania | |
| Draw | 76-6-3 | Tommy Loughran | PTS | 10 | 1924-10-13 | Philadelphia Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | |
| Win | 76-6-2 | Billy Hirsch | TKO | 8 (10) | 1924-09-15 | Wabash Park, Mingo Junction, Ohio | |
| Win | 75-6-2 | Jimmy Slattery | PTS | 6 | 1924-09-03 | Bison Stadium, Buffalo, New York | |
| Win | 74-6-2 | Ted Moore | UD | 15 | 1924-06-26 | Yankee Stadium, Bronx, New York | Retained World Middleweight Title |
| Win | 73-6-2 | Frank Moody | KO | 6 (12) | 1924-06-16 | Brassco Park, Waterbury, Connecticut | |
| Win | 72-6-2 | Pal Reed | PTS | 10 | 1924-05-12 | Motor Square Garden, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | |
| Win | 71-6-2 | Jackie Clark | TKO | 2 (12) | 1924-05-05 | Ben Franklin Arena, Kenilworth, Maryland | |
| Loss | 70-6-2 | Kid Norfolk | DQ | 6 (10) | 1924-04-19 | Commercial A.C., Boston, Massachusetts | |
| Win | 70-5-2 | Fay Keiser | TKO | 12 (15) | 1924-03-24 | 104th Regiment Armory, Baltimore, Maryland | |
| Win | 69-5-2 | Jack Reeves | PTS | 4 | 1924-02-22 | Oakland Auditorium, Oakland, California | |
| Win | 68-5-2 | Johnny Wilson | UD | 15 | 1924-01-18 | Madison Square Garden, New York, New York | Retained World Middleweight Title |
| Win | 67-5-2 | Tommy Loughran | PTS | 10 | 1923-12-25 | Motor Square Garden, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | |
| Loss | 66-5-2 | Gene Tunney | UD | 15 | 1923-12-10 | Madison Square Garden, New York, New York | For American Light Heavyweight Title |
| Win | 66-4-2 | Bryan Downey | UD | 10 | 1923-12-03 | Motor Square Garden, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | Retained World Middleweight Title |
| Loss | 65-4-2 | Tommy Loughran | PTS | 10 | 1923-10-11 | Commercial A.C., Boston, Massachusetts | |
| Win | 65-3-2 | Johnny Wilson | PTS | 15 | 1923-08-31 | Polo Grounds, New York, New York | Won World Middleweight Title |
| Win | 64-3-2 | Len Rowlands | KO | 3 (10) | 1923-06-16 | Craft's Five Acres, Uniontown, Pennsylvania | |
| Loss | 63-3-2 | Gene Tunney | SD | 15 | 1923-02-23 | Madison Square Garden, New York, New York | Lost American Light Heavyweight Title |
| Win | 63-2-2 | Young Fisher | PTS | 12 | 1923-02-16 | Syracuse Arena, New York, New York | |
| Win | 62-2-2 | Tommy Loughran | UD | 15 | 1923-01-30 | Madison Square Garden, New York, New York | Retained American Light Heavyweight Title |
| Win | 61-2-2 | Bob Roper | PTS | 12 | 1922-11-10 | Broadway Auditorium, Buffalo, New York | |
| Win | 60-2-2 | Al Benedict | TKO | 2 (10), 2:40 | 1922-09-26 | Ricoh Coliseum, Toronto, Ontario | |
| Win | 59-2-2 | Gene Tunney | UD | 15 | 1922-05-23 | Madison Square Garden, New York, New York | Won American Light Heavyweight Title. 1923 Fight of the Year by The Ring Magazine. |
| Win | 58-2-2 | Al Roberts | KO | 6 (10) | 1922-05-12 | Boston Arena, Boston, Massachusetts | |
| Win | 57-2-2 | Tommy Gibbons | PTS | 15 | 1922-03-13 | Madison Square Garden, New York, New York | |
| Win | 56-2-2 | Whitey Allen | TKO | 6 (10) | 1921-12-23 | Syracuse Arena, Syracuse, New York | |
| Win | 55-2-2 | Homer Smith | TKO | 5 (12) | 1921-11-25 | Newark Athletic Club, Newark, New Jersey | |
| Win | 54-2-2 | Charley Weinert | TKO | 5 (12) | 1921-11-25 | Madison Square Garden, New York, New York | |
| Win | 53-2-2 | Jimmy Darcy | PTS | 10 | 1921-10-24 | Broadway Auditorium, Buffalo, New York | |
| Win | 52-2-2 | Joe Cox | PTS | 12 | 1921-09-20 | Palace of Joy, Brooklyn, New York | |
| Draw | 51-2-2 | Jeff Smith | PTS | 15 | 1921-05-20 | Louisiana Auditorium, New Orleans, Louisiana | |
| Win | 51-2-1 | Jimmy Darcy | PTS | 10 | 1921-05-13 | Boston Arena, Boston, Massachusetts | |
| Win | 50-2-1 | Soldier Jones | KO | 4 (10) | 1921-04-11 | The Armouries, Toronto, Ontario | |
| Win | 49-2-1 | Happy Littleton | PTS | 15 | 1921-04-01 | Louisiana Auditorium, New Orleans, Louisiana | |
| Win | 48-2-1 | Jeff Smith | PTS | 10 | 1921-02-25 | Commercial A.C., Boston, Massachusetts | |
| Win | 47-2-1 | Pal Reed | PTS | 10 | 1921-01-29 | Commercial A.C., Boston, Massachusetts | |
| Win | 46-2-1 | Bob Roper | PTS | 10 | 1920-12-21 | Commercial A.C., Boston, Massachusetts | |
| Win | 45-2-1 | Jack Duffy | TKO | 6 (10) | 1920-12-11 | Motor Square Garden, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | |
| Win | 44-2-1 | Gunboat Smith | KO | 1 (10) | 1920-10-21 | Springbrook Park, South Bend, Indiana | |
| Win | 43-2-1 | Ted Jamieson | TKO | 6 (10) | 1920-09-22 | Milwaukee Auditorium, Milwaukee, Wisconsin | |
| Win | 42-2-1 | Bob Roper | PTS | 12 | 1920-04-05 | Stockyards Stadium, Denver, Colorado | |
| Win | 41-2-1 | George KO Brown | PTS | 12 | 1920-03-25 | Stockyards Stadium, Denver, Colorado | |
| Win | 40-2-1 | Tommy Robson | PTS | 12 | 1920-03-17 | Industries Building, Dayton, Ohio | |
| Win | 39-2-1 | Soldier Jones | KO | 5 (10) | 1919-11-28 | Broadway Auditorium, Buffalo, New York | |
| Win | 38-2-1 | Terry Kellar | PTS | 15 | 1919-08-11 | Highland Park, Dayton, Ohio | |
| Win | 37-2-1 | Bill Brennan | PTS | 15 | 1919-07-04 | Convention Hall, Tulsa, Oklahoma | |
| Win | 36-2-1 | Yankee Gilbert | TKO | 4 (10) | 1919-06-20 | Wheeling, West Virginia | |
| Win | 35-2-1 | Joe Borrell | TKO | 5 (6) | 1919-06-16 | Shibe Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | |
| Win | 34-2-1 | Clay Turner | PTS | 12 | 1919-05-06 | Boston Arena, Boston, Massachusetts | |
| Win | 33-2-1 | Tommy Madden | KO | 2 (10) | 1919-04-02 | Butler, Pennsylvania | |
| Win | 32-2-1 | Len Rowlands | TKO | 4 (10) | 1919-02-03 | Southside Market House, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | |
| Win | 31-2-1 | Leo Houck | PTS | 12 | 1919-01-14 | Boston Arena, Boston, Massachusetts | |
| Win | 30-2-1 | Eddie McGoorty | PTS | 10 | 1918-07-27 | Fort Sheridan, Illinois | |
| Achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Johnny Wilson |
World Middleweight Champion August 31, 1923 – February 26, 1926 |
Succeeded by Tiger Flowers |
| Awards | ||
| Preceded by inaugural |
Ring Magazine Fighter of the Year 1922 |
Succeeded by Jack Dempsey |
| Preceded by Jack Dempsey |
Ring Magazine Fighter of the Year 1924 |
Succeeded by Paul Berlenbach |