Buckeye Blogger Network
Chic Harley doing it as only he could
Today we begin a summer series chronicling Ohio State players honored in the College Football Hall of Fame. We start with a great legend.
In today’s edition of Ohio State College Football Hall of Famers, we’ll take a look at the exploits of one Charles William Harley, better known as ‘Chic’. Harley’s accomplishments ranged from Ohio State’s first consensus All-American (and a 3-time pick, at that), to raising the profile of the Ohio State football program to national prominence, and to being the great-great uncle of tBBC’s alum, Rob Harley. He even managed to squeeze in fighting in a world war. When it comes to Ohio State football, it all begins with Chic Harley.
Pre-Ohio State
Charles Harley was born in 1894 in Chicago, IL, thus the nickname Chic. His family moved to Columbus when Charles was 12 years old, where he attended East High School. Eventually, the family returned to Chicago before Harley’s senior year, but the Columbus East principal convinced the family to let Harley stay for his final year. While in high school, so many people wanted to see Harley play that several football games that East High outdrew Ohio State football games. (Thus starts a trend).
Like the rest of the Buckeye Intertrons, our flabber is significantly ghasted with the news that the Big Ten Network’s top four conference “Icons” rank out as follows:
Yup, seems as if someone spilled a little Rotel into their ranking machine.
Personally, I don’t have a problem with these being the top four- Grange made a name for himself and college football, and went on to save the NFL in the eyes of many; Johnson’s matchup against Larry Bird was the moment that “March Madness” became the iconic event that it is today (in addition to helping drag the NBA out of the mire of the drug filled 70′s… but you can read Simmons’ 8 million words on that). Read More
Horvath excelled, even though Ohio Stadium's field was built on a 45-degree angle
The early days of Ohio State football are littered with names that will always be legendary around Columbus, Ohio.
Chic Harley.
Francis Schmidt.
Paul Brown.
Bill Willis.
Les Horvath.
Horvath won the Heisman Trophy for Ohio State in 1944, the first one ever won by a Buckeye. Two years earlier, OSU won a National Championship with a team filled with sophomores (WWII took a ton of players away from us in the draft. No, not that draft, a military draft), but Horvath was clearly the leader of that team.
Horvath is no longer with us, having passed away in 1995 at the ripe old age of 74. But for a guy who defeated both the United States Army (on the field) and the Nazi army (on the battlefield), I’d say he’s earned his place in history.
Here’s to you, Les Horvath!
22 days until kickoff!
