Harry Greb was born to a working-class family in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. His father Pius was a German immigrant, while his mother Annie also had German origins. Harry’s real name is Edward Henry Greb but he took the name Harry because of his admiration for an older brother who died at a young age.
Greb dreamt of becoming a champion even when he was a little boy. He would stand on a box in the basement, take his fighting stance and pronounced himself a world champion. His talent for fighting, especially his quickness, could have first been seen when he managed to stand up to local bullies that maltreated him.
As for the education, Greb somehow went through grade school but never showed any great thirst for knowledge. He was much more interested in boxing but Greb’s father was very strict and didn’t support this idea, believing that a career in baseball would be a better fit. This led to numerous arguments between the two of them and Greb finally decided to leave his home in 1910. He started working as an electrician apprentice but used each opportunity to learn about boxing, visiting boxing tournaments and participating in local boxing matches.
It was in 1913 when Greb decided to first enter a boxing tournament held at Waldemier Hall, not far from his childhood’s home. His first opponent was William J. Miller, who had previously been the winner of different tournaments. Greb won on points and then he won another two fights to claim the first place and qualify for the inter-city boxing tournament in Cleveland.
Unlike many other fighters who stayed in amateur boxing for years, Greb quickly moved to the world of professional boxing with the help of James “Red” Mason, a manager in charge of many Pittsburgh boxers at the time. It was already in May 1913 when Greb had his first professional undercard fight. He managed to win his first fight and then put in three more victories before getting defeated for the first time after the newspaper decision claimed that far more experienced Harvey Evans edged the fight (at the time, an official decision wasn’t being made after the bout had finished).
Either way, a great career was on the cards for young Greb. His physics put him in the middleweight category but he never hesitated to fight guys who were taller and stronger than him, using his quickness and strategy smartly. After only a couple of years, names of his opponents were far more reputable. In 1915 and 1916, he faced George Chip, who was the reigning middleweight champion at the time, in two non-title bouts, losing both of them by newspaper decision.
He won a lot of fights victories during the next few years (in 1917, he had 34 victories in 37 fights, and from 1918 to 1920 he had gone two years without being defeated), including winning against George Chip, Jack Dillon, Willie Meehan and Battling Levinsky, who was the lighting heavyweight champion at the time. Unfortunately, that fight was the non-title as Greb was yet to participate in a fight for a title. They were reluctant to give him a chance for the title since he lost to Mike O’Dowd, future world middleweight champion, in 1918.
Greb encountered first problems in 1921 when Kid Norfolk thumbed him in the eye during a fight. He suffered a retinal tear and many are inclined to believe that he completely lost sight in his right eye, especially as he spent two months recovering after a match against Bob Roper that occurred later that year. At the time, he managed to go through physicals before the fights by using his good eye to remember the letters he was supposed to read off the eye chart.
Sight problems didn’t keep Greb from boxing and perhaps his greatest fight followed in 1922 when he faced the American light heavyweight champion, Gene Tunney. Tunney was undefeated until then but Greb gave him a nose fracture and blood gash over the eye. Despite the fact that Greb’s gloves were all bloody, Tunney didn’t want to forfeit and somehow endured fifteen rounds. This was the only defeat in Tunney’s professional career and Greb was deservedly pronounced the American light heavyweight champion. Ring Magazine called this bout the Fight of the year.
Greb kept the title until February 1923 and a rematch with Tunney, when he lost after a split decision which was at least arguable since many reports claim that Greb was the better boxer in the ring. The crowd jeered as Tunney was being pronounced the winner but the decision was already brought. Despite this and the fact they fought three more times, Greb and Tunney had great respect for each other. Their relationship was deepened during their fifth bout when Tunney was evidently winning. Greb asked him not to knock him out, and Tunney granted his plea, stating later that it took a great deal of courage from Greb to admit defeat. The two rivals respected each other so much that Tunney was one of the pall-bearers at Greb’s funeral.
While the light heavyweight title might have been out of his reach, Greb knew that the world middleweight crown can be his. On August 31, 1923, he fought the reigning champion Johnny Wilson and won the match in which there were fists everywhere. Greb defended the title in 1924, defeating Wilson once again.
However, it was much harder for him to defend his title against Mickey Walker, the world welterweight champion. Witnesses state it was a fight to remember as the first few rounds were dominated by Walker but Greb took control later and managed to keep his crown of the world middleweight champion. There are some reports that claim they ran into each other at a bar later that night and had an unofficial rematch but that cannot be confirmed.
Greb managed to keep his title for three years before he was defeated by Tiger Flowers in 1926. This was already a later stage in his career and he knew that he wasn’t at his best but despite that, Flowers won the fight by a controversial decision, and the rematch by an even more controversial one. Greb himself felt that he certainly won the fight and this ended to him announcing his retirement.
He intended to open a gym in his hometown but had to solve his vision problems first. His right eye was replaced with a glass prosthesis but he also needed to have cataract surgery. Unfortunately, Greb never woke up from anaesthesia and died on October 22, 1926.
There are reports claiming that Greb was taking The Bible anywhere he would go, especially after his wife Mildred died in 1920
There is no known data when it comes to Greb's affiliation towards any political party.
His nickname was “The Human Windmill”, resembling the style of fighting that he used, where he often made a series of punches towards his opponents. Greb was an extremely fast fighter that had great stamina and could endure a whole lot in the ring. However, reports state that he didn’t like to train and he avoided spending time in the gym. Instead, Greb fought often to keep himself in shape.
Although there are certain reports that he was a racist which is why he isn’t held in high regards nowadays, these claims don’t seem to be true. Greb never said anything bad about black people and even agreed to fight against them in the ring, despite the fact that white boxers often refused to fight his black colleagues at the time. Furthermore, Greb’s last match in his career was with Tiger Flowers, who was known as “Black Harry Greb”, and who ended up taking the title from him.
Quotations: "Prizefighting ain't the noblest of arts and I ain't the noblest artist"
Ring Magazine made Greb a member of their Hall of Fame in 1955. He was admitted to the Pennsylvania Sports Hall od Fame in 1980, and he was the first-class inductee of the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990.
Greb was not only a good boxer but he was also a good man outside of the ring. Many pictures can be found of hims pending time with his daughter Dorothy, as well as with his wife Mildred. He is also known for respecting his opponents and a great mutual respect with Gene Tunney, despite the fact they were big rivals.
Physical Characteristics: Greb's used his physical characterists to his advantage in the ring. His reach of 180 cm (71 in) and his quickness enabled him to cause troubles to numerous opponents. His appearance was in line with the reports that he was a womanizer. Although he wasn't much tall (173 cm or 5' 8''), he always made sure to look god. He's often seen wearing a coat and a tie in pictures, always making sure that his hair is in order.
Quotes from others about the person
“In the first exchange in the first round, I sustained a double fracture of the nose, which bled continually until the finish. Toward the end of the first round, my left eyebrow was laid open four inches. In the third round another cut over the right eye left me looking through a red film. For the best part of twelve rounds, I saw this red phantom-like form dancing before me. I had provided myself with a fifty percent mixture of brandy and orange juice to take between rounds in the event I became weak from loss of blood. I had never taken anything during a fight up to that time. Nor did I ever again.” - Gene Tunney, commenting his only defeat in his whole career, which was against Greb
Greb married Mildred Riley, his childhood sweetheart, in 1917. They had a daughter named Dorothy together. His wife Mildred passed away in 1920.
