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Notable people · Sports

Chic Harley

Columbus East High and Ohio State halfback, Ohio State's first All-American (1916, 1917, 1919), whose crowds launched the drive to build Ohio Stadium, 'the House That Harley Built'.

Born September 15, 1895, Chicago, Illinois
Died April 21, 1974, Veterans Administration Hospital, Danville, Illinois

Chic Harley
Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

At a glance

Born
September 15, 1895, Chicago, Illinois source
Died
April 21, 1974, Veterans Administration Hospital, Danville, Illinois source
Buried
Union Cemetery, Columbus (Franklin County) source
Also known as
Chic Harley
Education
East High School, Columbus, OH
Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, 1916-1919
Known as
Sports
Organizations
Ohio State University

Life story

Chic Harley was born in Chicago in 1895 and got his nickname from the city. His family moved to Columbus when he was 12. At East High School his team lost only one game, his last.

At Ohio State he was a three-time consensus All-American halfback in 1916, 1917 and 1919. He led the Buckeyes to Big Ten titles in 1916 and 1917 and scored 201 career points, a school record per game. He also lettered in baseball, basketball and track. In 1918 he served as a pilot in the Army Air Service. Ohio State beat Michigan 13-3 in 1919.

The crowds he drew led to Ohio Stadium, nicknamed The House That Harley Built. He was a charter member of the College Football Hall of Fame in 1951, briefly played for the Chicago Staleys in 1921, and died in Danville, Illinois, in 1974. He is buried at Union Cemetery in Columbus.

Ohio ties

  • Columbus (1912-1921)
    family home after moving from Chicago in 1912 Franklin County · source
  • East High School, Columbus (1912-1915)
    football star; lost only his final game, to North High; the field was later named Harley Field Franklin County · source
  • Ohio State University, Columbus (1915-1917, 1919-1920)
    halfback, three-time All-American, also lettered in baseball, basketball and track Franklin County · source
  • Olentangy Park, Columbus (1910s)
    one of the first lifeguards at the park's swimming pool Franklin County · source
  • Columbus (1948)
    honoured with a downtown ticker-tape parade and a Script Ohio tribute at the Ohio State-Michigan game Franklin County · source
  • Union Cemetery, Columbus (1974)
    burial place, about a mile north of Ohio Stadium Franklin County · source

Timeline

  1. 1895 Born September 15 in Chicago (the College Football Hall of Fame gives 1894). source
  2. 1912 Moved from Chicago to Columbus with his parents, three brothers and three sisters, and entered East High School. source
  3. 1915 Enrolled at Ohio State, recruited by the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity, and played on the freshman team. source
  4. 1916 Beat Illinois 7-6 in the rain with a late 13-yard touchdown run and the extra point, kicked after he changed into a clean shoe. source
  5. 1916 Led Ohio State to a 7-0 season and its first Western Conference title, and became the first sophomore named to Walter Camp's All-America team. source
  6. 1917 Ohio State went 8-0-1, outscored opponents 292-6 and repeated as conference champion; Harley was again a consensus All-American. source
  7. 1918 Left school to serve as a pilot in the U.S. Army Air Service. source
  8. 1919 On October 25 led Ohio State to its first win over Michigan, 13-3 at Ferry Field, with a long touchdown run and four interceptions; Fielding Yost called him 'one of the finest little machines I have ever seen.' source
  9. 1920 Ohio State launched a $1.3 million fund drive to build Ohio Stadium, credited to the crowds Harley drew to Ohio Field. source
  10. 1921 Played nine games for George Halas's Chicago Staleys; a contract giving him a share of the team was voided after a physical found health problems traced to his war service. source
  11. 1938 Admitted to the Veterans Administration Hospital in Danville, Illinois, where he stayed for the rest of his life. source
  12. 1948 After new treatment, returned to Columbus for the Michigan game; an estimated 75,000 people lined High Street for a parade in his honour. source
  13. 1951 Named a charter inductee of the College Football Hall of Fame. source
  14. 1974 Died April 21 of bronchial pneumonia in Danville; buried in Union Cemetery, Columbus, with the 1974 Ohio State captains, including Archie Griffin, as pallbearers. source
  15. 1977 Inducted in the first class of the Ohio State Varsity O Hall of Fame. source
  16. 2004 Ohio State retired No. 47, his last jersey number, at halftime of the Penn State game on October 30. source

What Chic is known for

  • Three-time consensus All-American (1916, 1917, 1919)
  • Charter inductee, College Football Hall of Fame 1951
  • Ohio Stadium called the House That Harley Built; $1.3 million fundraising campaign 1920
  • Ohio Stadium ('The House That Harley Built')

Stories

The pep rally speech

Ohio State had never beaten Michigan in 15 tries when the unbeaten Buckeyes left for Ann Arbor in October 1919. The night before, an overflow pep rally packed the Armory, and captain Chic Harley, who disliked speaking to crowds, was called up. The Columbus Dispatch reported his whole speech: he had never thought a Michigan game more than a Wisconsin or Illinois game until that night, the crowd made the team want to fight harder, 'That's all.' The next day 28,000 people, the largest crowd yet at Ferry Field, watched Ohio State win 13-3; Harley scored on a long run and intercepted four passes. Michigan coach Fielding Yost came to the Ohio State locker room to congratulate the team and called Harley one of the finest little machines he had ever seen.

Source

The House That Harley Built

Before Harley, Ohio State struggled to draw 2,000 people to Ohio Field. With the hometown star from East High in the lineup, overflow crowds of 12,000 packed the field and many more were turned away for lack of tickets. University officials decided to build on that excitement with a new stadium. Its $1.3 million cost was raised entirely from private donations, and Harley, who never played a game in it, worked to help raise the money. Ohio Stadium quickly became known as 'the House That Harley Built.' Ohio State's own history adds that the trustees barred any university money from the project, and its former sports information director Marv Homan said there was no question that Harley's popularity launched the campaign.

Source

Columbus welcomes him home, 1948

From 1938 Harley lived at the veterans' hospital in Danville, Illinois. In the summer of 1948 a new doctor's treatment helped him, and that fall he drove to Ohio State's road games at Indiana, Northwestern and Illinois. When word spread that he would attend the Michigan game in Columbus, city and university officials met him at Union Terminal, and an estimated 75,000 people lined High Street for a ticker-tape parade with police escort and more than 20 university floats. At halftime the marching band opened the O's of Script Ohio to spell 'Chic.' Harley sat in Section 18-A and watched Michigan win 13-3. At the captains' breakfast he asked that everyone be thanked, adding that he did not deserve the parade.

Source

Honors and things named for them

  • College Football Hall of Fame, charter class 1951
  • Chic Harley Award for college football player of the year
  • Jersey #47 retired, 2004
  • Harley Field, East High School, Columbus

Named for Chic Harley

Sites to know

Homes, graves, markers, museums and monuments; the numbered ones are on the map.

12345

Places in Ohio to see

Ohio places

Where Chic Harley was born, lived, worked and is remembered, with the ZIP code, town and county pages for each.

Myths and corrections

Things often said about Chic Harley, and what the record shows.

Often said Harley was a classmate of James Thurber and George Bellows at Columbus East High School.

The record Thurber, born 1894, attended East High from 1909 to 1913 and overlapped with Harley, who arrived in 1912. George Bellows was born in 1882, 13 years before Harley, so he cannot have been a classmate. source

Often said The marching band altered Script Ohio to spell 'Chic' only once, at a 1949 tribute.

The record Ohio State's own history dates the Harley homecoming to the 1948 Michigan game and says the band opened the O's to spell 'Chic' on several occasions. source

Often said Harley was born in 1894.

The record The College Football Hall of Fame gives September 15, 1894, but Find a Grave, Ohio State and Wikipedia give 1895, and he was 78 at his death in April 1974, which fits 1895. source

Documents

Primary records: patents, letters, court and government files, nominations and old county histories, each at the archive that holds it.

Pictures

Free to use with the credit shown. Select a picture for the original and its license.

  • Ohio Field 1916 - Ohio State Buckeyes Football
    Ohio Field 1916 - Ohio State Buckeyes Football
    Public domain

Further reading

Sources

Confidence. Medium: the main facts were confirmed, but some details (often an address or ZIP code) were not.

Every link goes to the original source. Profile researched 2026-10-15.

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