It was a wonderful day and a half in Columbus last Thursday and Friday, Aug. 13 and 14 as we met with top East High School athletic department officials, members of the local media and bookstore owners.
This writer and brother Bob sped off for Columbus from Chicago at about 12:30 p.m. Thursday. About seven hours later, we were inside the Buckeye Hall of Fame Cafe dropping off a few copies of the new book “The One And Only: Chic Harley - America’s Great Athlete.” The next morning, following a meeting at the Columbus Dispatch newspaper, we made our way to the Eddie George Grille across from Ohio State where we met with reporters to unveil plans for a new Harley Field sign at East High School. That’s where Chic attended high school from 1912 to 1915. He scored 269 points by himself during three years on varsity setting the stage for a glorious college career at Ohio State.
East High School Athletic Director Greg Reamsnider and head football coach Mike White attended the press briefing. As of today, the new 20-ft. long Orange and Black sign has been ordered and will be ready to be mounted on the stadium’s press box facade by mid-September.
Our thanks to Russ Finneran who provide morale support during our stay and to Nick, day manager at the Grille. Also, we were delighted to see that several book stores around the OSU campus are already carrying copies of “The One And Only.” One such place is Long’s Barnes & Noble Bookstore on High Street. We’ll post a complete, up-to-date list soon.
We plan to return to Columbus and Ohio State sometime between mid-September and early October.
Stay tuned. One of our upcoming announcements will give details of a big event coming up where a presentation of the Chic Harley story will be available to everyone in central Ohio.
And, I’d like to add, the first two people who see this blog entry and call my cell phone at 847-561-3382, I’ll send you a complimentary, autographed copy of “The One And Only”.
—Todd Wessell