Chic Harley
The dazzling Ohio State running back who almost single-handedly put Buckeye football on the map and inspired the construction of their massive stadium.
1894–1974 (age 80)·American football player·Birthday: September 15·The Lost Generation
Biography
Before the Horseshoe was even a blueprint, there was Chic Harley. Playing for Ohio State from 1916 to 1919, with time off for military service, Harley wasn't just a great player; he was a phenomenon. A triple-threat halfback who could run, pass, and kick with equal brilliance, he delivered the program's first victories over archrival Michigan, sending the campus into a frenzy. His electrifying play didn't just win games—it captured the imagination of an entire state and demonstrated the potential of college football as a major spectacle. The revenue and excitement he generated are famously cited as the catalyst for building Ohio Stadium, a concrete monument to the legacy of a player who made people believe in what Buckeye football could become.
The Lost Generation
1883–1900
Came of age during World War I. Disillusioned by the carnage, they rejected the certainties of the Victorian era and built modernism from the wreckage — in art, literature, and politics.
Chic was born in 1894, placing them squarely in The Lost Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Chic Was Born
The biggest hits of 1894
Chic's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1894Born
President: Grover Cleveland
1899Started school
President: William McKinley
1907Became a teenager
Financial panic grips Wall Street
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1910Could drive
Halley's Comet makes its closest approach
President: William Howard Taft
1912Could vote
Titanic sinks on its maiden voyage
President: William Howard Taft
1915Turned 21
The Lusitania is sunk by a German U-boat
President: Woodrow Wilson
1924Turned 30
First Winter Olympics held in Chamonix, France
President: Calvin Coolidge"It Had to Be You" — Isham Jones
1934Turned 40
Gas: $0.19/galPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Stars Fell on Alabama" — Jack TeagardenBest Picture: It Happened One Night
1944Turned 50
D-Day: Allied forces land at Normandy
Gas: $0.21/galHome: $3,400Min wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Swinging on a Star" — Bing CrosbyBest Picture: Going My Way
1954Turned 60
Brown v. Board of Education desegregates US schools
Gas: $0.29/galHome: $8,925Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Little Things Mean a Lot" — Kitty KallenBest Picture: On the Waterfront
1964Turned 70
Civil Rights Act signed; Beatles arrive in America
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $13,450Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"I Want to Hold Your Hand" — The BeatlesBest Picture: My Fair Lady
1974Turned 80
Nixon resigns the presidency
Gas: $0.53/galHome: $22,600Min wage: $2.00/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"The Way We Were" — Barbra StreisandBest Picture: The Godfather Part II
Key Achievements
- Ohio State's first-ever consensus first-team All-American selection in football.
- Led Ohio State to its first victories over the University of Michigan in 1919, breaking a long-standing drought.
- Was a three-time All-America selection, a rarity for his era.
- Inducted as a charter member of the College Football Hall of Fame in 1951.
Did You Know?
His full name was Charles Wesley Harley.
He also played baseball and basketball for Ohio State University.
A famous sports writer of the time, Grantland Rice, wrote that 'Chic Harley could do everything but fly.'
“A punt, a pass, a place-kick—I gave Ohio State its first real glory.”
