Irecently found out that I share my birthday, June 6, with one of my favorite pioneers of boxing: Harry Greb, “The Pittsburgh Windmill,” who went 45-0 in the year 1919 alone.

Officially, Greb’s record was 261 wins, 16 losses, 19 draws and one no contest. He won over a hundred fights blind in one eye.

“The toughest fight i’ve ever had was against Harry Greb,” said Gene Tunney, Light heavyweight and later Heavyweight Champ, who fought Greb, Middleweight and Light Heavyweight Champ, five times. “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.”

“Prizefighting ain’t the noblest of arts,” Greb once said, “and I ain’t the noblest of artists.”

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