The fearless Harry Greb left a undeniable legacy

Harry Greb, also known as the Pittsburgh Windmill, was an American professional boxer who fought from 1913 to 1926. Born in Pittsburgh, Greb was known for his unorthodox style and relentless aggression in the ring. He fought in the middleweight and light heavyweight divisions and held the world middleweight championship for several years during his career.

Greb began his professional boxing career in 1913 and quickly gained a reputation for his fierce and unorthodox fighting style. He was known for his relentless aggression and non-stop punching, which more often than not overwhelmed his opponents. He had a powerful left hook and was equally skilled at both fighting from the outside and in close quarters. If you wanted to beat Harry Greb, you were going to have to match his work rate. Few did.

One of the things Greb was known for was his penchant for moving out of his weight class to take on some of the best light heavyweights and even notable heavyweights. One example of this was his bout with Gene Tunney in May 1922, which was contested for the American title at 175 pounds. Greb broke Tunney’s nose in the first round, and laid a whipping on him the rest of the way. At the end of the fifteen rounds, Greb had won a decision. This proved to be the only defeat in the career of Tunney, who would, four years later, dethrone Jack Dempsey for the heavyweight championship.

What was perhaps even more impressive about Greb’s win is the fact that he probably did it while partially blind. The year before, he had been in the ring with light heavyweight Kid Norfolk, who eventually was enshrined in the International Boxing Hall of Fame, and suffered a torn retina. Since Greb’s schedule was busy, to say the least, that injury was not going to get better, so one’s best guess is that it became exacerbated over time.

And by the way, Greb fought Tunney four more times, but was not able to come away with a victory. However, he later made up for that in the middleweight division. Greb was avoided by a lot of 160-pounders, but did get a chance against Johnny Wilson in August 1923, winning the world championship with a 15-round decision.

One of the all-time great fights took place between Greb and Mickey Walker at the Polo Grounds in July 1925. Walker had the better of it in the early going, but Greb came on strong, hurting Walker badly in Round 14. He wound up winning the decision, and then, according to legend, the two went at it in a bar after the fight, when Walker accused Greb of thumbing him in the eye.

Greb’s good fortune in the middleweight division ended in February 1926, when he lost a decision – and his title – to crafty southpaw Tiger Flowers. He also lost the rematch, in rather disputed fashion.

He then retired and replaced his damaged eye with one of glass. He underwent surgery to address issues he had with his nose and respiratory tract, but there were some complication involved. Greb did not recover successfully from the surgery and died at the age of 32.

There is no “exact” record for Greb, owing to the fact that 179 of his 299 fights were “newspaper decisions” where there were no judges and the many sportswriters in attendance published their opinion (and sometimes their scores) when they next went to press.

But the fact is, Greb only lost eight times. And this was in a career in which he fought against sixteen opponents who are members of the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

Harry Greb was a remarkable fighter who left a lasting impact on the sport of boxing. His unorthodox style, relentless aggression, and versatility in the ring set him apart from his peers and earned him a place among the all-time greats. He fought against some of the biggest names in the sport and was a dominant force in the middleweight and light heavyweight divisions. Although his life was cut short, Harry Greb’s legacy will continue to inspire future generations of boxers.