Story posted Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Publisher Honors Great Uncle With Book
Chronicles Life Of 20th Century Football Great 'Chic' Harley
By DENISE FLEISCHER Lifestyle Editor
Northwestside Chicago native Charles W. "Chic" Harley was known as a wonder in early 20th century football---a "triple threat" at Ohio State University who excelled in running, passing and kicking. His heartbreaking story of how he reached the very pinnacle of the American sports world only to quickly and suddenly fall into a life of mental illness is told through his great nephew, Todd Wessell, in the newly-published biography, "The One And Only." Wessell is editor and publisher of the Journal & Topics Newspapers.
The 16-year writing project introduces readers to a great athlete who was "loved and admired for his bashful personality and competitive athletic spirit."
"The idea for the book was my father's," explains Wessell. "He wanted to write about Uncle Chic for years. Twenty years ago, I became fascinated with the story." Wessell was determined to assist his father in researching and writing the book and in 1993 began taking notes and gathering information on his own. Wessell's great grandmother, who was Chic's mother, collected pictures and newspaper clippings of her son for many years starting in 1912 when he was in high school. That became the foundation of the project. In 1974-'75, Wessell's father, Richard, Sr., interviewed several of Chic's teammates after Chic's funeral and a year later during visits to Columbus, Ohio.
"From there, through the help of those who actually attended (the funeral), family members and other sources, I began tracking down newspaper articles, pre-1920's and later, all historical records of what happened," explained Wessell. He noted that one of the most important discoveries was a 1922 transcript of a court case involving Chic Harley and his brother Bill who filed a lawsuit against George Halas and Edward "Dutch" Sternaman over what amounted to control of the Decatur Staleys, (pre-Chicago Bears) football team.
The team was founded by the A.E. Staley Company of Decatur, Ill., in 1919 as a way of promoting the downstate cornstarch business. Halas had originally been hired by Staley to manage the baseball and football teams.
Wessell said that Halas, Sternaman and the two Harley brothers were partners in 1921 and had agreed in July of that year to share in any profits that might be made. Halas wanted desperately to recruit Chic Harley for the team because at the time he was biggest name in football and was sure to attract a strong fan base. Harley and the Staleys performed well in 1921 with the squad winning the American Football League championship. Harley played halfback and did much of the team's kicking and passing. Prior to joining the Staleys, Harley was a halfback at Columbus' East High School where for three years he was a one-man wrecking crew. After high school, he was enrolled at Ohio State University in Columbus where he became a three-time football All-American and four-sport letterman. He was a fabulous runner and passer and kicked nearly all of the team's extra points and field goals during his three years on varsity.
In those three years, Ohio State won two Western Conference championships and was regarded one of the finest teams in the nation when just a few years earlier they were considered the doormats of the league.
Sadly, certain factors profoundly altered Harley's future, according to Wessell, which triggered a lifetime of emotional challenges.
"In 1918, a terrible experience in the Army Air Corps led to Chic being court martialed. He was sentenced to three months of hard labor, on trumped up charges," said Wessell.
Harley never played in a losing game for Ohio State until his final contest in 1919, which was lost with just eight seconds to go. The shy and modest Harley blamed himself for the loss, which proved to be a turning point in his life.
In 1921, when playing for the Staleys, Harley suffered severe injuries. Some of his family members years later said the injuries were part of an attempt by Halas and Sternaman to belittle his playing abilities and to freeze him and his brother Bill out of involvement with the team. Within two weeks after the conclusion of the 1921 season, Harley had suffered a complete mental breakdown and was hospitalized in a sanitarium. For the next 52 years of his life, he struggled with mental illness having been diagnosed with schizophrenia in 1938. He lived from 1938 to 1974 in the Danville, Ill., Veteran's Administration Hospital. During the later years of his life, as medical treatments improved, so did Harley. From about 1950 until he passed away, he would often travel by train to Des Plaines where he would stay with his sister, Ruth and later his nephew, Richard Wessell and his family of six children. In 2004, Ohio State honored Harley, who many regard as the driving force of the building of the school's famed "horseshoe" stadium. Harley's jersey number was retired which today hangs in the stadium's "Ring of Fame".
"He received the recognition with the jersey retirement, but in my opinion it's not enough," Wessell said, adding that besides his book, he wants to see a statue of Harley erected in a place of honor in front of the huge arena. "Maybe that will happen. Only time will tell," said Wessell.
After 16 years of research and three years of writing and re-writing about his great uncle, Peppertree Press out of Sarasota, Fla., published Wessell's manuscript in hardcover format. A highly anticipated book launching is scheduled for 6 to 8 p.m., Wednesday, June 17, at the Hilton Garden Inn Hotel, 2930 South River Rd. in Des Plaines. The public is invited free of charge.
For more information, log on to www.ChicHarley.com.
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