Smokestack Lightning: Harry Greb, 1919

by Springs Toledo

“Springs Toledo is the best boxing writer working today, and perhaps the best sportswriter, period. His work combines the rarest of a literary and poetic grasp of the English language, and a detailed and rigorous understanding of history.” —Dr. David Crawford Jones, Ohio State UniversityIn January 1919, a Pittsburgh prizefighter married an ex-chorus girl and with her at his side, proclaimed himself ready to thrash “the whole world.” It was no idle threat. Harry Greb embarked on an unparalleled 45-0-0 campaign that year, often fighting once, twice, and sometimes three times a week. His motto? “All-comers.” His objective? To prove himself the superior of every rival within reach—including Jack Dempsey. By December 1919, Greb was pressing his shoulder up against the limits of human endurance, and moving it. Smokestack Lightning brings you back to an America in the aftermath of war, at the dawn of the Jazz Age and the brink of Prohibition. It is a unique and heavily-researched encounter with the greatest fury fighter of the 20th century. Meet him mid-stride.

173 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 1, 2019

Reviews

[Vincent T. Ciaramella]

When people think about Pittsburgh and sports, they tend to only think about the big three: Baseball, Football, and Hockey. What people forget is that Boxing was once a major export from this region. We had some of the best there ever was emerge from the smoke and flame of the late 19th/early 20th century. Harry Greb was one of them.

Before Billy Conn, there was Harry Greb “The Pittsburgh Windmill”. Greb would take on all comers and he even gave Dempsey a beating at his training camp (and Dempsey never took him on again). His death at a young age leaves us with a lot of “what if’s”. We can all speculate but there will never be an answer.

Springs Toledo has really captured the essence of Greb in this book. It’s a narrow window into the life and career of this boxer from a century ago and I loved every minute of it. What a time to be alive for a boxing fan! This short book mixes history with the travels of the author as he traces Greb in 1919. I loved the last chapter the most. It was neat to see what was still there. I highly recommend this book to any boxing fan or just a person interested in Pittsburgh history.

[G.J. Minett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating biography of a boxer who was avoided by Jack Dempsey and managed to beat almost every major heavyweight and light-heavy back in the good old days, despite the fact that he was only a middleweight! Springs Toledo brings 1919 to life in rich and colourful prose. An absolute must for any boxing fan and a compelling portrait of a man who fought several times a month as a way of life.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my New Favorites

I just happened on to this book while rummaging around the boxing books on Amazon. I am a voracious reader of boxing books(Ive read most of the popular works) but I hadn’t come across the greatly named Springs Toledo. Big mistake. This wildly praised short biography of boxer Harry Greb’s most prolific year(1919) is a fine example of the biographer’s art and excellent writer. I am going to buy all of Toledo’s books but just wish they were on kindle.

[Calum · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best boxing writer about. Great account of arguably the best fighter of all time with a story that sounds too good to be true. They don’t make men like Harry Greb anymore - that’s for sure.

[Steve Hunt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superbly written, but don't be mistaken that this is a full biography. At only approximately 130 pages it can be read in one sitting, but it still tells the story of the man beautifully. I just would have liked more, but then maybe there is no more to tell. The author, Springs Toledo, is to be hugely admired as this book has been self published, however he is a far superior writer than he is a designer judging by the cover of the book, for which he is also responsible.

[Joseph Hirsch · Rating 4 out of 5]

In boxing there's an old expression: "the man who beat the man who beat the man." It's intended to convey that whoever wins the championship is inheriting a mantle that can be traced, like one's hereditary roots, back through the distant mists of time.

It's relevant also for some boxing writers, since they seem to not so much be products of their own time as men and women carrying on a tradition that began long before they were born. I don't think "Smokestack Lightning" is Springs Toledo's best book (it's a bit too short) but it has flashes of that quality that leave me convinced that Mr. Toledo is the best boxing writer alive today, and the one most fit to inherit the cigar smoke-stained mantle passed down through the ages, from A.J. Liebling to Mark Kram Senior and Bert Sugar.

"Smokestack Lighting" documents, in several short chapters, the barnstorming career of perhaps the greatest boxer who ever lived. Harry Greb was a man who fought with one eye, like "Gypsy" Joe Harris (only unlike Harris he did it at the elite level). He won every match he fought for a year, tallying up 45 victories in that time span. To put this in perspective, Hall-of-Famer Floyd "Money" Mayweather endlessly (and rightfully) touts his sterling record of fifty wins...over the course of his lifetime. Sure, Mayweather's quality of opposition was more elite (probably) than the assorted nine-pins "the Pittsburgh Windmill" cut like a wheat thresher in his famed year, but 45!!!???

The author doesn't so much write about the distant past as walk the same streets that Greb once stomped, in the hopes of encountering some ghostly trace of whatever it was in the sooty Pittsburgh air that Greb and other young and hungry children of immigrants imbibed which made them fight so hard, driven by a combination of despair at their current lot and hope for a bright future.

Springs visits old hotels, pores over ancient, moldering newspapers, and sometimes even goes knocking door-to-door to see who in the city has even heard of Harry Greb. Sadly, he mostly comes up snake eyes when pressing the locals for their knowledge. Good thing he wrote this book, though. Hopefully more people read it, and learn about Greb. And Toledo. Recommended.

[Paul Cupitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

My only criticism of this book is that it was too short. I could have easily read another 200 pages on the same subject. Fantastic reading!

[Matt Gale · Rating 3 out of 5]

Accept it for what it is. A brief overview of a year in Greb's career. Only 134 pages long. Not a lot else to say really