Sales of Through My Eyes (HarperOne, June),the Christian life story of Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow, have been climbing rapidly since evangelicalism’s poster boy won the starting job in October. As of Sunday (Dec. 18), Through My Eyes had tallied 220,000 print book sales, making it HarperOne’s biggest book of 2011.

That’s saying something. HarperOne made a splash in February with Rob Bell’s Love Wins, which to date has sold an impressive 210,000 hardcovers. But Tebow is known for fourth-quarter heroics, and apparently Q4 2011 is no exception.

“Heroics and controversy is a good blend for sales,” HarperOne Senior V-P and Publisher Mark Tauber told RBL. “That’s really what’s happening here.”

Through My Eyes came ready to play when it hit shelves in June. Tebow already enjoyed a huge following among Christian football fans, especially in Florida, where a Tebow statue adorns the University of Florida campus. When NFL negotiations delayed the pre-season practice schedule, he used the extra time to give inspirational talks and sign books. By opening day, HarperOne had sold about 150,000.

At first the season looked poised for diminishing returns. Sales slowed as Tebow rode the bench and the Broncos fell to 1-4. When he got the nod as starter, the selling pace quickened to about 2,000 books a week. Despite criticism of his stiff playing style and exuberant expressions of faith, the team kept winning, and the book kept selling.

By late November Tebow was driving hard toward the end zone of surpassed expectations. He had become a national media sensation and figure of intrigue. Who is this guy? Could faith and virtue be his magic bullets? Weekly sales topped 6,000, then 11,000. Last week (Dec. 11-18), Through My Eyes sold 25,000 copies.

Now others are vying for a piece of so-called Tebow magic. This month (December), Zondervan released a young reader’s edition titled Through My Eyes: A Quarterback’s Journey.

Whether the Broncos win or lose, HarperOne expects more success from what’s become its hottest title since Sidney Poitier’s The Measure of a Man received the Oprah Book Club’s golden touch in 2007. With 475,000 copies now in print, HarperOne plans to schedule more promotional events--after a few more miracles on the gridiron.