30 Facts About Harry Greb

Harry Greb was the American light heavyweight champion from 1922 to 1923 and the world middleweight champion from 1923 to 1926.

Harry Greb fought 298 times in his 13-year career, which began at around 140 pounds.

Harry Greb had a highly aggressive, fast and swarming style of fighting.

Harry Greb used dirty fighting tactics, including spinning his opponent and using the heel and laces of his gloves.

Harry Greb suffered several injuries in his career, including blindness in one eye.

The first was in his seventh fight when he was knocked out by Joe Chip, who heavily outweighed him; the second happened two years later when Harry Greb broke the radius of his left arm against Kid Graves.

Harry Greb finished the round but was unable to continue the fight.

Harry Greb was born as Edward Henry Greb to a German immigrant father and mother of German descent, Pius and Annie Greb, who raised him in a working-class household.

Harry Greb began his professional boxing career in 1913, fighting mostly around his hometown of Pittsburgh.

Harry Greb would fight 37 times in 1917, winning 34 of those fights either officially or unofficially.

Harry Greb won via a ten-round newspaper decision and was eligible to fight for the middleweight title.

Harry Greb was seen in a hospital with patches over both eyes.

Harry Greb kept the injury a secret from all but his wife and closest friends, fooling physicians during pre-fight physicals by memorizing the order of the letters on the eye chart.

On May 23,1922, Harry Greb was matched with Gene Tunney, the undefeated American light heavyweight champion.

Multiple eyewitness reports state that Harry Greb controlled the fight and battered Tunney, cutting and rocking him from punches on more than one occasion.

Harry Greb remained the only man ever to have beaten Tunney, and Tunney would be among the pall-bearers at Harry Greb's funeral.

One month after losing his light heavyweight title to Tunney, Harry Greb set his sights on middleweight champion Johnny Wilson; however, when Wilson's manager Marty Killelea refused to offer him the bout, Harry Greb paid a few speakeasy servers in Pittsburgh and New York to serve him water in coloured tumblers and then feigned intoxication in a highly theatrical spectacle.

When Killelea witnessed one of these performances, he assumed Harry Greb was ripe for the taking and arranged for the bout to take place.

The middle rounds saw Harry Greb starting to relax and control the pace of the bout while Walker could still land some eye-catching combinations.

Harry Greb took control during the championship round, and Harry Greb was awarded a unanimous decision by the judges and retained the championship.

The heavily intoxicated Harry Greb took great offense to this and jumped to his feet to fight.

At 32, a waning Harry Greb was years past his best when he was matched with tricky southpaw Tiger Flowers in Madison Square Garden in February 1926.

Harry Greb later stated, "Well, that was one fight I won if I ever won any," the fight would be the last of his career.

Harry Greb married Mildred Catherine Reilly on January 19,1919, in Epiphany Church.

Harry Greb retired following the second Flowers loss and relayed to a friend that he planned on opening a gym in downtown Pittsburgh.

Harry Greb was buried at Calvary Cemetery in his hometown of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Harry Greb was willing to box African-American fighters, including Jack Blackburn, Kid Norfolk and Tiger Flowers, in an era when many white boxers refused to do so.

Harry Greb faced 16 Hall of Famers, more than any other boxer.

Harry Greb was enshrined in the Ring Magazine Hall of Fame in 1955, the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame in 1970, the World Boxing Hall of Fame in 1980, and the International Boxing Hall of Fame as a first-class inductee in 1990.

Harry Greb is ranked by BoxRec as the 5th greatest fighter.