Ohio State to Honor 1916 Team With Throwback Jerseys

Although we still await official confirmation, Ohio State has picked a replica of the school's 1916 jersey, complete with vertical gray stripes, as their alternate for this year. The game in which they will be worn has not been named. Coach John Wilce led that squad to a 7-0 record and Western Conference championship, riding star back Chic Harley. Ohio State football would look very different without the success that team had as Harley a local athlete, became hugely popular. The three time All American led the Buckeyes to the first-ever win over Michigan (they did not play annually back then) and when he left, having lost only his final game, the Buckeyes were so popular that Ohio Stadium was built and dedicated to him. Harley's story is an important one to always remember as soon after he graduated he began dealing with mental illness. Harley, and it is not known definitively today whether his illness was as a result of a sports wound, war injury or genetic, would spend the rest of his 50+ years suffering from the debilitating effects of mental illness. He died in 1974 and some members of the contemporary Buckeyes squad, including Archie Griffin, were pallbearers.