Harry Greb. This name will surely not say anything to old and new boxing fans, since the character in question is part of a very remote generation of gladiators located at the end of the first decade and beginning of the second of the 20th century, almost a century ago. , which of course leads us to assume that there are very few (only those avid readers of boxing history, like the author of this article) who can know who the man nicknamed “Pittsburgh Windmill” in boxing was.
What we can say, before moving on, is that Greb was one of those boxers who only appear from time to time… But it would be better if you continued reading to learn a little more about the character and what he was like in the ring, in the microbiography incomplete about him in the following lines:
Harry Greb, plain and simple, Edward Henry Greb by birth (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 06/1894 – Atlantic City, New Jersey, 10/22 1926), as we noted before called “The Pittsburgh Mill” was an exceptional middleweight boxer that got old. The chroniclers of the history of the ring always placed him in the historical notes on the lists of the most prestigious exponents of the ancient sport.
A MEMORABLE RIVALRY
It would be enough to mention just one of his fights to grant a privileged place in history to someone who has been in the International Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastota since 1990 (in 1954 he had already entered the Nat Fleischer Museum, which has now disappeared or has been replaced by the current one. from New York).
That memorable glove battle took place in “The Big Apple” on May 23, 1922, in which Greb faced the legendary Gene Tunney, American national light heavyweight champion. It is worth noting that four years later Tunney would dethrone the “Manassa Killer” Jack Dempsey, heavyweight champion, and defeat him again in the rematch in the historic fight called “Long Count” 96 years ago, exactly on September 22, 1927. at Soldiers Field in Chicago, Illinois, before more than 100,000 spectators and to which we have referred on other occasions.
In the fight against Greb, the defending champion, Tunney, weighed 174 pounds, 12 more than Greb. He had never been defeated in 53 fights, while his opponent surpassed 200 fights. At the time, Greb was suffering from vision problems due to a detached retina, an injury sustained in a fight the previous year. Supposedly (this is what is known about it) to compensate for his physical disadvantages, Greb resorted to illicit resources in various parts of the fight.
In the first round he headbutted the champion and broke his nasal septum. He finally won on points in what was the only frustration in the former Marine’s brilliant career (he left the ring with 65-1-1 – 47 knockouts, a former US Army officer in the First World War, as well as a tireless reader). and lover of classical music), took the country’s light heavyweight belt from him.
In February of the following year, Tunney (at 175 pounds, 10 more than Greb), took revenge and regained the belt in 15 rounds. In March of ’25, Tunney (181 pounds, with his fierce rival at 167) won again. GT He would say, now retired, that Greb had been the toughest rival of his entire career and that he did not know how he could have ended up standing in the first confrontation.
The fierce, lightning-quick and skilled fighter, who moved around the ring incessantly and with unusual courage, dominated the middleweight bracket from 1923 to 1926. He won the world title by decision against Johnny Wilson (08/31/23 ) and defended it 6 favorable times – all by decision – against Bryan Downey (3/12/23, in 10); Johnny Wilson (01/18/24, at 15); Fay Kaiser (03/24/24, at 12); Ted Moore (06/26/24, at 15); Mickey Walker /07/02/25, at 15) and Tony Marullo (11/13/25, at 15).
On 02/26/26, in NY another luminary of the time and also with his name inscribed in the Hall, Thedore (Tiger) Flowers, the first black world champion at 160 pounds (72, 5574 kg) knocked him down in 15 and took the throne. Flowers defeated him again on August 19 of that year in New York, a frustration that forced Greb, now far from the great fighter he had been, to say goodbye to the ring permanently.
HIS STYLE, MERITS AND FINAL DAYS
In 12 years, between 1913-1926, he left behind him about 290 fights, although other statistics give him 305, of which 46 were by knockout, 64 by points, 1 by foul, 3 draws, 5 losses on the scorecards and only 2 by knockout. against. Another 168 appear as No Decision or without official results, in addition to a no contest.
He was distinguished by his aggressive way of fighting non-stop, throwing punches in each round, a true machine gun with gloves that, although without great knockout power, overwhelmed his opponents with a relentless rain of blows from all angles, in constant mobility of a side. from the ring to the other.
Greb has among its merits, which guarantee its greatness, various recognitions from experts and specialized organizations. These include, for example, the 5th and 4th of all time, respectively, by historian Bert Sugar and commentator Max Kellerman; the second largest of all The Ring eras in the last 90 years; the 5th greatest of all time by Box Rec and the first middleweight, third light heavyweight and second Pound for Pound in history by the International Boxing Research Organization.
Almost blind for five years before his farewell to the ring, he died, still in his prime, when he was only 32 years old in Atlantic City, New Jersey, after undergoing surgery for an injury to his damaged eye, on October 22, 1926. -five (65) days after his last appearance in the ring.
An old American historian said of Greb that “he combined the speed of Robinson, the consistency of James J. Jeffries, the vitality of Hank Armstrong and the murderous aggressiveness of Stanley Ketchel, in addition to having a will to win unparalleled in history.” For his part, Jack Dempsey, who reigned among the heavyweights between 1919 and 1926, said of the “Pittsburgh Windmill” that he was “the fastest boxer I have ever seen, faster even than a lightweight.”
