Grassroots efforts to create and build a statue of Ohio State Buckeye great Chic Harley continue to pick up speed even though OSU officials remain mum and non-committal at this point.
The studio of Rotblatt-Amrany of Fort Sheridan, Illinois north of Chicago, in collaboration with Portraits/Chicago, Inc. have indicated their desire to move ahead with a statue project honoring Harley.
Rotblatt-Amrany and Portraits Chicago, Inc. have worked on some of the most endearing sports statues found in America. Among their creations is the famed Michael Jordan dunk shot statue in front of Chicago’s United Center and the 17-ft. tall statue of Magic Johnson bursting onto the scene at Michigan State University. Just recently, the collaborative team inked a deal with the Chicago Cubs to create a 7-ft. tall statue of Hall of Fame slugger Billy Williams which in a year or two will adorn the confines of Wrigley Field alongside statues of Ernie Banks and Harry Caray. Allowing a Chicago company to create a Harley statue is highly appropriate because Chic was born in the Windy City in 1894 and spent much of his life there with his parents, brother, sister, nephew and extended family.
More and more universities, colleges and professional sports teams are moving forward with plans to enshrine their greats through bronze statues that will last for decades and even centuries. Last year, the University of Illinois unveiled a statue of its greatest football player, Red Grange, who played just a few years after Chic Harley. People who saw both Harley and Grange play agree that Harley was better. A few months ago, the University of Florida announced that it had commissioned the creation of three statues of three of its gridiron greatest, one of whom is Tim Tebow who just graduated after a stellar football career.
What about Chic Harley, who most people who know his story would agree, set the stage for what has become one of the greatest sports and scholastic programs in the world? The Buckdeye Grove next to Ohio Stadium where its many All Americas are honored is nice, but it’s not enough. The process of honoring the school’s football legends the right and honorable way must begin now. It must start with Chic Harley, OSU’s first consensus All America, first three-time All America, four-sport letterman, and the man who, through his never-before-seen athletic abilities and magnetic personality capitvated a community state and nation from 1916-1919.
People need to know the fascinating story of Chic. Once they do, they will leap onto the statue bandwagon. We can’t waste another minute.
Call OSU President Gordon Gee to voice your opinion. Reply to this entry. Write letters to the editor. Let the people speak!