Harry Greb

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

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. He began his professional boxing career in 1913 under manager James "Red" Mason, fighting mostly around his hometown of Pittsburgh. By 1915, he was fighting world-class opposition, notably Hall of Famer Tommy Gibbons and reigning middleweight champion George Chip, whom he faced twice during 1915–1916 in non-title fights. Greb would lose both fights by "newspaper" decision, which he would later avenge. Greb fought 37 times in 1917 (a record), winning 34 of those fights either officially or unofficially. Among his defeated opponents that year were the reigning light heavyweight champion Battling Levinsky (in a non-title fight), former light heavyweight champion Jack Dillon, middleweight George Chip and heavyweight Willie Meehan. Despite these results, Greb was still denied a chance to fight for a title. In 1921, during a fight with light heavyweight Kid Norfolk, he was thumbed in the right eye, which is believed to have resulted in a retinal tear. The injury would eventually lead to permanent blindness. He 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. Greb would later lose some vision in his left eye and his gradual loss of sight led him to always go to bed with the light on.

Reader's Guide

Harry Greb's significance lies in his relentless activity and willingness to face any opponent. He is notable for being one of the only champions of his generation to regularly accept fights against the top rated black fighters of his era. Greb holds the record for fighting the most boxing hall of fame opponents, defeating 16 out of 17 of them. His five-fight series with Gene Tunney is legendary: on May 23, 1922, Greb fractured Tunney's nose in two places and opened a deep gash over his left eye, winning a unanimous decision and handing Tunney his only professional loss. The bout was hailed as the Fight of the Year for 1922 by the Ring Magazine. Tunney regained his title in a highly controversial split decision in February 1923, with the crowd booing heavily when Tunney was announced as the winner. They fought three more times, including a no-decision newspaper draw. Greb's middleweight title win over Johnny Wilson on August 31, 1923, came after Greb feigned intoxication in a theatrical spectacle to lure Wilson's manager into arranging the bout. Greb won a 15-round decision. He defended the title against Mickey Walker in July 1925 at the Polo Grounds, winning a unanimous decision. Greb is ranked by BoxRec as the fourth greatest boxer of all time, pound for pound, as of May 2025, and was also named the fifth best pound-for-pound boxer of all time by Sports Illustrated in 2012.

Did You Know?

• Greb fought 37 times in 1917, a record, winning 34 of those fights.
• He held the world middleweight title from 1923 to 1926.
• Greb is the only man to have defeated Gene Tunney, doing so in 1922 in a bout hailed as Fight of the Year.
• He feigned intoxication in speakeasies to trick Johnny Wilson's manager into giving him a title shot.
• Greb lost sight in his right eye after being thumbed during a 1921 fight with Kid Norfolk, but kept the injury secret by memorizing the eye chart.