"The toughest fight i've ever had was against Harry Greb; I had a very bad time that night, it was on the 22nd of May 1922. I had my nose broken in the first 10 seconds and both of my eyes opened in the 2nd and 3rd round. Ooh.... it was a pretty sorry affair". - Gene Tunney

Edward Henry Greb, more commonly known as Harry Greb "The Pittsburgh Windmill" was the son of an immigrant German father and a mother whom also is of German descent, he was born in 1894. His parents raised him in a working class household in Pittsburgh.

Harry didn't really had to box, but he wanted to, after beating up some of his bullies as a child there was no stopping him, he said.

Harry began his professional career in 1913, fighting around his hometown of Pittsburgh. By 1915, he was already fighting World Class, Hall of Fame opposition, notably Hall of Famer Tommy Gibbons and reigning middleweight champion George Chip. Though Harry would lose to both, he would later avenge those losses as his career unfolded.

Greb fought 37 times in 1917, which remains officially a record, winning 34 of those fights. He was the American Light Heavyweight champion from 1922 to 1923, and dropped down to Middleweight to fight for the title. Harry held the Middleweight Championship from 1923 to 1926. He fought the best opposition his era provided in his 13 year career which began at Light Welterweight 140 pounds. Despite starting as a welter, Greb fought men larger than him in his entire career.

Harry died following a cataract surgery to repair his broken nose, injured in a car accident just two weeks previously, complications occured and his heart failed. It was later confirmed that Harry fought whilst being blind in one eye from 1921 until his death in 1926 at the age of 32.

Although there is no information available of Greb's fighting footage, the newspapers at the time did have a good description in what he looked like while fighting, as did his previous opponents. Here's what Genne Tunney said abour Greb's style:

"He was never in one spot for more than half a second, all my punches were aimed and timed properly but they always ended up hitting empty air. He'd jump in and out, slamming me with a left and whirling me around with his right or the other way around. My arms were plastered with leather and although i jabbed, hooked and crossed, it was like fighting against an octopus"

Greb had a highly agressive, fast and swarming style of fighting. He also used dirty tactics such as spinning his opponent and using the heels and laces of his gloves. He relied heavily on his natural gifts. His speed, chin and stamina were his main strenghts and they usually outweighed the amount of skill he had. Some reporters described him as amateurish, since he often didn't sit on his punches, for Harry, volume was everything. He never tired, and while he lacked one punch knockout power, he would wear his opponents down by literally hundreds of punches and non stop assaults.

Greb had the most impressive resume ever, beating 16 individual Hall of famers, the most ever! He faced the likes of Billy Miske, Jack Blackburn, George Chip, Tommy Gibbons, Battling Levinsky, Jack Dillon, Jeff Smith, Gunboat Smith, Mike Mctigue, Bill Brennan, Willie Meehan, Eddie McGoorty, Mike O'Dowd, Tiger Flowers, Maxie Rosenbloom, Mickey Walker, Johnny Wilson, Gene Tunney, Tommy Loughran, Jimmy Slattery and Kid Norfolk. He went 32-11-5 against men who would later be inducted in the HOF, beating the most and also having the most wins against them, a record that possibly no other fighter will be able to recreate

Greb also fought 51 times in a period of 1 year and 4 months (January 14 1919 until April 5 1920) Winning every single bout, achieving an impressive record of 51-0 and racking up 10 wins against Hall of Famers.

Quotes

"Greb may have been the greatest fighter Pound-for-Pound who ever lived... At his peak he was unbeatable, defeating virtually every Middleweight, Light-Heavyweight and Heavyweight of his generation, a great fighter." - Eric Jorgensen

"Greb was the fastest fighter i ever saw. Hell, Greb is faster than Benny Leonard! (Lightweight champion)." - Jack Dempsey

"I wouldn't say he was dirty so much as he was expedient. He was so eager to get the damage done that his head and shoulders went with a punch. He was a fast and furious man." - Tommy Loughran

“Greb is fast and bounds like a kangaroo all over the ring, hitting from awkward positions. One can never tell when he is going to let fly a solid punch or a light tap….No matter how good a boxer may be he will have a hard time figuring out Greb.” - Mike Gibbons

“Greb doesn’t box. That’s why he can beat the boxers. They know what a boxer ought to do, and that’s just what Greb never does.” - Robert Edgren

"How can you make a good showing against a fella who does everything backwards?" - Jeff Smith

"The fastest fighter i ever saw in my life was that white boy from Pittsburgh, Harry Greb. And they called him windmill for a reason, the faster he went, the more he punched, and from all over!" - Sam Langford

"They say Harry Greb died when his heart failed, but i say no man on this living earth could ever question the fighting heart of Harry Greb." - said Genne Tunney, with an audibly sad tone of voice.

And finally a quote from the man himself:

" Prizefighting ain't the noblest of arts, and i ain't the noblest of artists." - Harry Greb, The Pittsburgh Windmill.