The One And Only

Now that the college football season is over and a fresh layer of snow stretches across the flat, now brownish gridiron of the House That Harley Built, it’s time for some reflection of the past 12 months.
And what a year it was.
In April, we attended the annual Scarlet & Gray game and made friends with more than 200 Ohio State faithful and Chic Harley fans. Many who found their way to our booth inside the gray stadium encouraged our continuing efforts to have some appropriate memorial to Chic erected. Perhaps a statue of The One And Only or naming the gridiron Harley Field, they suggested.
In June, we hosted a book launch party in Chicago for The One And Only. Approximately 175 people attended to learn about Chic and what he did for not only OSU, but American football.
Prior to the book launch, we attended the annual enshrinement of football greats into the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Ind. There, we conducted two programs about Harley that included a slide presentation and two videos. Among the attendees was John Cooper who that day became a hall of famer.
In late July, we attended the National Sports Collectors Convention in Cleveland where we sold books and met with many, many people who either had a strong interest in Chic or who wanted to know more.
In August, we drove from Chicago to Columbus to hold a press conference to announce plans to erect a 20-ft. long Harley Field sign at East High School where Chic played from 1912-1915.
Throughout August, we visited Columbus and Ohio State many times to meet with business leaders and retail store owners to help get the word out about The One And Only and Chic.
In late October, the Harley Field sign—in all its orange and black glory—was formally dedicated at ceremonies just before East’s final game of the season. At around the same time, we met with students and residents of Columbus at several book stores and on the college campus in front of St. John Arena.
The year 2009 was a break out year for Chic. We hope 2010 will be even better.
Stay tuned. We know Chic would appreciate your interest.

One of the more enjoyable and surprising benefits of my experience writing, publishing and marketing the book on Uncle Chic, The One And Only: Chic Harley - America’s Great Athlete is the fact that a number of people have stepped forward to inquire or to say they are related to Chic himself. While I have not had the time to pursue and delve into these new found relationships, I hope to in the near future. Shortly after we launched this website we were contacted via email from a young man from California who said he’s related to Chic. We responded to him and lo and behold we discovered that he indeed is a great, great nephew who resides in California. I knew his grandfather who was a son of Bill Harley, Chic’s older brother.
Just today, I received a telephone call from a young man—also from California–who said he just learned that he, too, is related to Chic. We talked for a while and I encouraged him to stay in touch so we can figure out the relationship.
In the meantime, in recent days I have received emails from people who have read The One And Only and who have expressed their appreciation that the full and true story on Chic Harley is coming out. I want to say I treasure all of those folks who have taken the time to learn about Chic. I hope they have enjoyed the experience of reading the book.
I hope to be traveling to Ohio later in the year to meet with people interested in learning more about Chic Harley’s life. If you’d like to meet up during one of those visits, give me a call at 847-561-3382.