Live Fast, Die Young: The Life and Times of Harry Greb

Probably gave it a brief going over, just like I did when I first got it. Its quality becomes very apparent very quickly.

 

While reading Steve Compton's biography of Harry Greb, I was stunned by the number of injuries sustained by Greb during his career. Yet Greb was still fighting so often, sometimes before he was completely healed.

I also learned more about Red Mason, Greb's manager for most of his career, and Frank "Doc" Bagley, Gene Tunney's manager before Billy Gibson took over. In a way, Mason reminded me of George Biddles, the English boxing man who managed two extremely active boxers, Len Wickwar and George Marsden, before World War II. Besides being acknowledged as a tremendous cut-man, Bagley should be given credit for getting Tunney in a position for a bout with Battling Levinsky.

- Chuck Johnston

 

Take a look at Allentown Joe Gans' record on the BoxRec website. According to various records, there was an Arphellius Hicks who was born on May 6, 1896 in Norfolk, Virginia and died on August 12, 1953. As a U.S. Army veteran who served in the 92nd Division (a segregated unit of African American soldiers) during World War I, Hicks was buried in the Long Island National Cemetery, which is located in Farmington, New York.

- Chuck Johnston

 

George Lewis (real name- George Lewis Todd) fought Harry Greb in two very competitive bouts early during the latter's career. According to a news item in the April 19, 1972 edition of the Toledo Blade on the Google newspaper database, George Lewis Todd, 80, was found dead floating in a hole filled with water in a quarry on April 18, 1972. He had walked away from the Hillcrest Nursing Home on January 22, 1972. Todd was a well-known welterweight boxer, using the name of George Lewis as a fighter and a referee.

Note- The news item was close to being illegible.

- Chuck Johnston

 

Steve Compton has given boxing purists a treasure.

I just finished it and wish it was another 600 pages. It was that good. Greb's style -its nuances, how it evolved after the eye injury sustained during Norfolk I, how it evolved again as he aged, is all here and clear. Details about his opponents -who they were, whether they were bums or great fighters, welters or heavies, some background information on them, is all here and clear.

I've been running around for a few years now insisting that Greb is greater than Sugar. Now I'm ready to get violent about it because Compton has just given me and all of us a damn arsenal of information.

My hat is off, Steve. You took a different track than most biographies, and at first I wasn't sure if it would work. It does. In a big way.

Congratulation on a stunning achievement.

 

I'm still reading Steve Compton's biography of Harry Greb. While reading about what Greb did during 1917, I was struck by the fact that he fought quite a few terrific fighters in the 37 bouts that he had that year. Yet he reportedly earned between $28,000. or $29,000. during that time. Yes, that was quite a bit of money for that time, but I would say that Greb was underpaid.

When fighting Charley Weinert in New York during the early 1920s, Greb received his biggest purse up to that time, not quite $10,000. That stunned me when I read it. About the same time, Jack Dempsey and Georges Carpentier earned $300,000. and $200,000. respectively for their bout.

- Chuck Johnston

 

Steve- You made some great points. I also have to keep in mind that there were some dramatic changes during the 1920s, leading to far bigger gates and purses than during the 1910s. As someone who looked at the 1920s Los Angeles Times and San Francisco Chronicle on micro-film, I became familiar with Ace Hudkins as a drawing card, notably in the Los Angeles area. Of course, Ace had a huge advantage of peaking during the late 1920s, close to ten years after Harry Greb had his heyday. In a way, Greb was born five or ten years too soon.

Before World War II, there were only two boxing shows which had gates which were over $100,000. in California. The first featured George Godfrey vs. Paulino Uzcudun while the second featured the second world middleweight title bout between Mickey Walker and Hudkins. The second bout between Hudkins and Sgt. Sammy Baker had a gate of about $84,000., a record for California at the time. Hudkins vs. Bert Colima reportedly had a gate of about $61,000. The "Great Depression" knocked California boxing for a loop, but I believe that the world heavyweight bout between Joe Louis and Jack Roper in Los Angeles drew a large gate.

- Chuck Johnston

 

There were a number of huge changes in professional boxing after World War I, including the legalization of the sport in various states and the huge increases in purses, gates and attendance in major bouts. While reading Steve's biography of Harry Greb, I noticed that a number of Greb's female relatives, including his wife and sisters, saw some of his bouts. The fact that women could see boxing shows in many locales in the United States after World War I was a big change in itself. Whether it was the law or simply the custom of boxing clubs, women weren't permitted to see boxing shows in many places in the United States before World War I.

- Chuck Johnston