Joe Greaves was truly dedicated to sports, both as an athlete and builder. On the diamond, not only was he a great player, he also excelled in the organizational ranks as well. In 1937 he was tagged with the nickname "two-bagger Joe", hitting a season .447 batting average with 50 per cent of his hits coming in the form of doubles. It was also during the 1930s that he formed the West End Junior Softball and Port Arthur Junior Baseball teams.
His involvement in football during the 1930s saw him re-organize the Port Arthur Football Team, known thereafter as the Packers. During the winter months, he kept his team in shape by enlisting them in local basketball leagues.
Although the Second World War sent him overseas, he never gave up his love of sports. He coached a softball team which lost in the finals for the Scottish championships and represented Canadian troops in the Army Games, competing in the 440-yard dash. Upon his return home he got involved with boxing and helped form the Port Arthur Legion Boxing Club, promoting fights for many years.
In 1948 he was back at the diamond with his junior team entering the senior baseball league under the banner of the Port Arthur Giants, a team he coached and managed for four years. He was also the organizer and first President of the Carrick Community Centre. Another of his notable achievements was his involvement with the formation of the Port Arthur Little League and Pony League associations, serving both leagues for close to 16 years, including 8 years as a coach.
Other legacies from this sports builder’s involvement included serving on the committee that was instrumental in building the Port Arthur Stadium, and helping bring the first professional baseball clinic to the Lakehead, known later as the Milwaukee Braves Silver Spikes School. Other innovative events and fundraising activities that he helped influence were the annual Diary Queen ice cream blitz which helped raise money for Little League teams and the Annual Community Bowl which raised money for the United Appeal.
His involvement in the curling community saw him serve as a director with the Port Arthur Curling Club for nearly a decade and, for several seasons, as Chairman of the Lakehead Bonspiel.
In addition to helping create legacies of sport, this dedicated sports builder also helped preserve them as the editor of a number of publications including Hockey Memories, a pictorial review of Lakehead hockey through the years, and as the first Curator of the Northwestern Ontario Sports Hall of Fame.
Inducted into the Northwestern Ontario Sports Hall of Fame, September 29, 1984