"On Thanksgiving Day, 1973, Charles William Harley, then seventy-nine years old, played his last football game...

So begins Chapter 1 of The One and Only, the biography of Chic Harley written by his great nephew Todd Wessell. My copy arrived last night. I opened it to that sentence and four chapters later put it down. An engrossing read, it traces Chic's life beginning with the immigration of his ancestors to this country and ending the day he was laid to rest just northwest of the stadium he helped build. For Buckeyes, this story is obviously our heritage, our football roots. More than football though, this book is a work of history. It is an American Era, it is the coming of age of a national sport, and the role Chic Harley played in that. It is how Schizophrenia changed everything in the life of this great athlete. Most importantly, it is the family that loved him and their tireless work to keep the memory alive.

As I gaze up at my Ohio State bookshelf, I count more than 20 books. All are good in their own way, but several stand out as timeless and classics. Jack Park's Ohio State Football Encyclopedia, Alan Natali's Woody's Boys, John Lombardo's A Fire to Win (life and times of Woody Hayes), Triumph, Jeremy Schaap's story of Jesse Owens and the '36 Olympics, and of course Jesse Owens - An American Life, William Baker's biography of Jesse. I expect father time will judge this book worthy to stand with those works.

There is a launch party open to the public this evening in Chicago at the Hilton Garden Inn. All of you can't be there, but right now you can learn more about the book, and order an autographed copy online at www.chicharley.com.

Be a part of history...read something great.