‘Chic’ a tribute to OSU football’s beginnings

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By Marc Katz, Staff Writer 12:29 AM Thursday, May 28, 2009

Father’s Day is next month, and while normally self-promotion is taboo, let me suggest purchasing the book “Chic” for any fatherly Ohio State fan.

Bob Hunter of The Columbus Dispatch wrote the copy, and I helped with the research. It’s a tough book to find outside Columbus, as tough as bringing down Chic Harley, a halfback who also was an exceptional passer, punter and drop kicker.

He was an unassuming kid who later encountered mental problems that faded him off the sports pages but not out of memory. Three decades after his on-field exploits, Columbus fans fashioned a Broadway-type motorcade when he returned for a Michigan game.

Harley was OSU’s first All-America, and his 1919 team was the first to beat the Wolverines.

Our original focus was on Harley as the guy who made it possible for dreamers Thomas French and Lynn St. John to build Ohio Stadium.

Not long into our research, Hunter and I discovered what should have been obvious from the start. Harley was the impetus for OSU football as we know it. Without Harley, OSU is, well, Wisconsin or Iowa.

Hunter weaves a compelling story of how this happened and why, marking the growth of the university and Columbus as well.

If you’re an Ohio State football fan and want to know why, get this book.

Happy Father’s Day.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2157 or mkatz@DaytonDailyNews.com.

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