Show l IT T hA i I J rA rAF J F 1 k Handsome Harry Greb Windmill Style Won Greb Pair of Titles Tilles By Billy Roche F Famous Referee and Manager The Hum Human Windmill they called Harry Greb but he was windy with fists not gab Greb had a style all allF F Fourth our th his n's own From bell to bell l he e of a threw punches S from all angles Series all in the direction direction tion of his opponent opponent opponent nent and rarely did his blows miss their target He was the nearest thing to perpetual motion that ever stepped into a prize ring Hero of ot f some battles from 1913 to to- 1926 inclusive during which he met light heavies and heavyweights Greb 8 5 lost only seven always to bigger and heavier men He was knocked out only once by Joe Chip in two rounds in his first year of professional professional pro pro- fighting Greb beat G Gene ne Tunney for the light-heavyweight light title May 24 1922 lost it back to Gene in 1923 won the middleweight championship championship championship champion champion- ship from Johnny Wilson August 31 1923 He held the latter crown till he lost to Tiger Flowers His last fight was with the Deacon for the title August 19 1926 in New York Two months later he was dead following an operation on his left eye Not ti till after his death did it become known that for years Harry Greb had been blind in that eye Dies After Accident Grebs Greb's death was not the result of at the operation An automobile accident did him in Harry was a speed maniac bothin both bothIn bothin in and out of ot the ring Entirely unorthodox In his training he conditioned conditioned conditioned con con- himself by dancing in night clubs and roaring over the countryside In powered high au auto auto- o- o mobiles All I need Is a haircut and shave he used to say say when his manager exhorted him to train regularly and most of the time he was right Greb was one of ot the real Iron men of the ring He seemed in indefatigable indefatigable in- in weathered the stiffest punches of heavyweights His great speed and peculiar cleverness cleverness clever lever ness however saved him from much pun punishment Some of the good heavyweights Greb trounced were Tom Gibbons Jack Renault Battling Levinsky Bartley Madden Bob Roper Gunboat Gunboat Gunboat Gun Gun- boat Smith Joe Cox Homer Smith and others too numerous to men men- tion Flattens Stickup Men Ien He licked sluggers and fancy Dans scoring decisions over Tun- Tun ne fey ncy Tommy Loughran and Jimmy Slattery In 1925 he defeated Mickey Walker in defending the middleweight title It was vas Walker who later took the title from Grebs Greb's conqueror Tiger Flowers Greb didn't confine his op operations to the prize ring Once speeding to a fight in an automobile automobile automo automo- bile with a bevy of feminine admirers admirers ad ad- four stick up men blocked his road with a stalled car Greb got out unceremoniously and with dispatch flattered the quartet of would would-be robbers and continued on onto onto onto to keep his engagement Cops picked up the unconscious victims and Greb had enough left to score a two round K O. O Grebs Greb's real name was Berg He changed it for tor business reasons He was born in Pittsburgh June 7 1894 of Irish German parentage He took his opponents as they came caine never asking their size or wel weight ht Bring em on was his battle cr cry I r dont don't care how big they are just just let me at em Infection in a nose Injury sustained sustained sus sus- tamed in his last automobile accident accident acci acci- dent caused used Grebs Greb's death in Atlantic Atlantic Atlantic At At- lantic City on October 22 22 1926 He was an iron man all aU right and It It took an Iron thing to put him out for the long ong count Next Jack McAuliffe |