BoxRec

118 years ago today one hell of a piece of fighting machinery was brought into this world kicking and screaming. Incidently it was also 10 years ago to the day that I started working on Greb's biography... Never thought Id still be at it this long. Maybe I'll post a few pages in honor of the old warhorse.

Always thought that Harry was probably one of those guys who could start a brawl in an empty room.
Thats a compliment.
What a great great fighter. Legitimate legend.

Believe it or not Harry seemed to be pretty mild mannered and non aggressive. He strikes me as being kind of a big kid. He just loved boxing, absolutely loved it, and worked his ass off to be the best at it. And if you started something with him he would either finish it or make damn sure you knew you were in a fight afterwards. Despite all of the outrageous stories very few people started anything with him.

Here are a few unedited pages within the layout of the book with photos and captions. This is the chapter beginning immediately after Greb won the title from Wilson.

Great read. What has been the hold-up, and when is it projected for release?

Not meant as a criticism, but it needs some work in terms of grammar and punctuation.

Thank you so much for the compliment. Oh believe me I know I need help on grammer and punctuation. Ive always said Im historian and researcher, not a writer. Im hoping to be done by the end of the year depending on how fast someone can edit it. Its drawing to a close now. Feels good and with the light at the end of the tunnel visible Ive been working a lot harder on it.

The holdup has been several things. Mainly the fact that its a one man show. from research, to writing, to design. I have a ton of rare photos in the book and many are newspaper photos. I wanted them to look as good as possible so Ive been digitally restoring those myself and at times that slows things down. And of course life gets in the way also... It will all be worth it when its done though.

You have a working or final title for it?

Initially it was Live Fast, Die Young, and Leave a Good Looking Corpse: The Life and Time of Harry Greb. Ive since been leaning toward dropping the "and leave a good looking corpse" part.

I like Live Fast, Die Young quite a bit

klompton wrote:Initially it was Live Fast, Die Young, and Leave a Good Looking Corpse: The Life and Time of Harry Greb. Ive since been leaning toward dropping the "and leave a good looking corpse" part.

Thats from Willard Motleys book "Knock On Any Door".
Gotta be careful somebody doesn't get a little up tight about borrowing that title.

Thats the line that young Nicky Romano used to say in the book about a Chicago kid getting in all kinds of trouble.
Written a long time ago,it was also later a movie with John Derek playing Nicky.He was Bo Dereks husband many years later.

I may be mistaken but I think once a phrase has entered the lexicon like that its pretty hard to sue over it.

I am delighted to read that this book will soon see the light of day after the many years it has been the topic of debate on this and other sites. The debates to put it mildly have been “lively” , especially when it focused on the issue of Greb being called a dirty fighter.
I am certain that I am not alone in saying that a lot of the posts you made were often plagued by a veritable torrent of idiotic remarks by people who sought to make a virtue out of throwing insults.
On a lighter note was the suggestion that film records had been deliberately destroyed to prevent us seeing that he really was as dirty fighter as the press often described him. A truly well considered viewpoint !!!!

klompton wrote:118 years ago today one hell of a piece of fighting machinery was brought into this world kicking and screaming. Incidently it was also 10 years ago to the day that I started working on Greb's biography... Never thought Id still be at it this long. Maybe I'll post a few pages in honor of the old warhorse.

Well done to yourself.

I look forward to reading your book when it's out.

You should keep us all posted on its progress & eventual release date. 8)

robert.snell1 wrote:I am delighted to read that this book will soon see the light of day after the many years it has been the topic of debate on this and other sites. The debates to put it mildly have been “lively” , especially when it focused on the issue of Greb being called a dirty fighter.
I am certain that I am not alone in saying that a lot of the posts you made were often plagued by a veritable torrent of idiotic remarks by people who sought to make a virtue out of throwing insults.
On a lighter note was the suggestion that film records had been deliberately destroyed to prevent us seeing that he really was as dirty fighter as the press often described him. A truly well considered viewpoint !!!!

The Greb film produced in the highest number and given the widest distribution was also considered his masterpiece by many, vs Mickey Walker in the Polo grounds.
Applying any such conspiracy theory to it, Greb and/or his people would want it destroyed to benefit his rep is rather laughable.
Again it was a masterpiece performance. The truth is a far more mundane tail. Nitrate film of that era was like a mink coat. Your either stored it away in a refrigerated vault or you kiss it goodbye.

While its true that nitrate film preserved better when handled with kid gloves, it certainly didnt need to be stored in a refrigerated vault. Undiscovered nitrate films turn up every year from this era and before. A couple of years ago a cache of nitrate films were found in an old fifty gallon drum in storage under no special circumstances. Ive given the example before but I recently purchased the Clabby-DeVitt fight from 1910 which had never been properly stored or preserved and its in marvelous shape. There is hope that Greb will be found but the conspiracy theorists are laughable in regards to Greb. What is the reasoning behind no film being found of Jack Britton, Johnny Wilson, Tiger Flowers, and others? The amount of fights that have been filmed from this is far more extensive than most people realize and only a small portion still exists. It has nothing to do with any conspiracy to protect those fighters images.

To bad there was never a movie on the big screen displaying his greatness. Most will never know of his great accomplishments

Great stuff - reads well! I'll certainly buy a copy.

scallum wrote:To bad there was never a movie on the big screen displaying his greatness. Most will never know of his great accomplishments

Maybe for the best.

That many great fights and victories, against an almost-innumerable wave of HOFers, they could never do him justice in two hours or so.

klompton.

It's just this sort of research that should turn a reluctant naysayer like myself into a believer. Seeing is believing, but truthfully, the "seeing" of others, by way of properly documented research should be allowed to be an equivalent faith builder. I have been far too dismissive of this sort of hard labor, and wish now to atone for my cavalier statements.

God bless you for "fighting the good fight" in your effort to bring Harry's story to light.

Happy birthday Harry!

While its true that nitrate film preserved better when handled with kid gloves, it certainly didnt need to be stored in a refrigerated vault. Undiscovered nitrate films turn up every year from this era and before. A couple of years ago a cache of nitrate films were found in an old fifty gallon drum in storage under no special circumstances. Ive given the example before but I recently purchased the Clabby-DeVitt fight from 1910 which had never been properly stored or preserved and its in marvelous shape. There is hope that Greb will be found but the conspiracy theorists are laughable in regards to Greb. What is the reasoning behind no film being found of Jack Britton, Johnny Wilson, Tiger Flowers, and others? The amount of fights that have been filmed from this is far more extensive than most people realize and only a small portion still exists. It has nothing to do with any conspiracy to protect those fighters images.

Its fascinating to learn nitrate film has been discovered in fine condition but its overall loss is described in terms of a cultural Holocaust. The original directions recommend 39 degree storage.

Agreed. Its incredible what has been lost. Very sad.