Klecko has an actual shot at getting the Senior spot for 2015. I believe the Senior selection will be announced later this month. Unfortunately, there is only going to be one senior finalist for 2015 because of the new contributor thing. Chuck Howley, Mick Tingelhoff and Johnny Robinson are also being strongly considered from what I can gather. I think the following seniors are strong candidates- Al Wistert, Klecko, Robinson, Howley, Tingelhoff, and Kenny Easley. Del Shofner, Randy Gradishar, Louis Wright, Harold Jackson, Bobby Dillon, Mac Speedie, Ken Anderson, Bob Kuechenberg, Lester Hayes, Lemar Parrish, Erich Barnes, Jimmy Patton, Jerry Kramer, Duke Slater, Cliff Branch, Drew Pearson, Lavvie Dilweg, and Larry Brown are others who could be considered.
It would be long overdue and well deserved. It pisses me off every year when I see D-Lineman get in who were not the player Klecko was. It is total bullshit that he is not in.
It'd be nice to see Klecko get into the hall. The place is reserved for people who were very memorable even in short careers marred by injuries. That's why Gayle Sayers made the cut. Klecko had 3 or 4 seasons where he was THE best defensive lineman in the NFL. That should get you into the hall of fame. Getting seriously injured twice and watching other factors come between you and the Super Bowl shouldn't disqualify you. It's too bad we didn't have the tools available in the early 80's that we have now. I could have put together a highlight reel on Klecko that would have included every defensive snap in a few games. He was that good.
Four different parties handed out defensive player of the year awards in 1981. Klecko won three of them. He lost the Associated Press award to Lawrence Taylor by two votes. Klecko's teammate, Mark Gastineau, undoubtedly cost Klecko that award. Taylor had 22 votes, Klecko 20 and Gastineau 10. Of course, today, people only seem to recognize Associated Press awards. Also, Klecko's 20.5 sacks in 1981, although real and accurate, are not officially recognized by the league. It is unfortunate, but if Klecko won the 1981 AP DPOY award and his 20.5 sacks were officially recognized by the NFL/Elias, Klecko would probably already be in the Hall of Fame.
Joe Klecko played NT to an All-Pro designation in his last healthy season in 1985. His AV of 18 was second only to Richard Dent's 19 that year. The Jets run defense that year was ranked 3rd in yards allowed and 2nd in average yards per carry at 3.5. Klecko weighed 260 lbs by the end of the season... There were inside linebackers that year who weighed more than him. http://www.nytimes.com/1985/12/22/sports/sports-of-the-times-joe-klecko-moving-fast.html In the game quoted in the article the Bears, who were by far the best team in football that year, beat the Jets 19-6. Their league leading rushing attack, which carried the ball 610 times for 2,761 yards and 27 TD's that year managed 35 carries for 116 yards and zero TD's against the Jets.
While Klecko has been nominated for the Pro Football Hall of Fame several times, he has not yet been enshrined. Hall of Fame center Dwight Stephenson, in describing Klecko as a "great defensive lineman", considered him one of the two best interior linemen he had ever faced.[6] Hall of Fame tackle Anthony Munoz said about Klecko, "In my 13 seasons, Joe is right there at the top of the defensive ends I had to block, up there with Fred Dean, Lee Roy Selmon and Bruce Smith. Joe was the strongest guy I ever faced. He had perfect technique — hands in tight, great leverage. My second year, 1981, we went to Shea and beat the Jets, 31-30, but he was such an intense, smart player, I knew I was in a battle. He was the leader, the guy who kept that unit together. Why he's not in already is a downright shame. Nobody epitomizes football more than Joe Klecko.
There are lesser guys in there already. if certain other guys are in Joe definitely belongs. My theory is they never made a SB and Gastineau overshadowed him w/ his antics.
the HOF is very unfair to defensive players. They tend to look at Super Bowls, flash stats like Sacks or INT's, and how recognized you are across the media, etc. After all, it is writers voting in. I almost guarantee you not many are watching tape of the trenches. The closest comparison i'd give Klecko to a player already in the Hall is Dan Hampton. Hampton played End and Tackle throughout the 80's. Was a very tough hard nosed guy, and part of the infamous 85 Bears D. Personally i think its easier to shine on a great D where you'll always have single blocking (or even no blocking in that confusing 46). I'd rate Klecko higher than Hampton, and at the very least comparable. Klecko was the motor, leader, and best player behind the Sack Exchange. And if Sacks are so important (see Strahan), Klecko briefly had the unofficial sack record, until broken by Gastineau. Klecko compares well to a lot of guys already in the HOF from the 70s and 80s, and its time to correct this wrong.
I wonder how much weight the "injury-shortened" reference below would carry, and I'm kinda disappointed that Long compromised Klecko's accomplishments with his choice of wording (as well-meaning as he probably meant to be): "Another player who influenced my career as a young player was a guy by the name of Joe Klecko. He made the Pro Bowl as a defensive end, defensive tackle, and as a nose tackle. In my opinion, if it were not for an injury-shortened career, he might well be sitting behind me here today." - Excerpt from Howie Long's HOF acceptance speech.
Somehow someway the NY Sack exchange deserves to be recognized in the HOF.Joe Klecko def has that going for him.
Yeah...Klecko played 11 years..'82 & '87 were seasons where he missed significant playing time. He was a monster...and one of the most respected O lineman that played in that era. Hall of Fame center Dwight Stephenson, in describing Klecko as a "great defensive lineman", considered him one of the two best interior linemen he had ever faced.[6] Hall of Fame tackle Anthony Munoz said about Klecko, "In my 13 seasons, Joe is right there at the top of the defensive ends I had to block, up there with Fred Dean, Lee Roy Selmon and Bruce Smith. Joe was the strongest guy I ever faced. He had perfect technique — hands in tight, great leverage. My second year, 1981, we went to Shea and beat the Jets, 31-30, but he was such an intense, smart player, I knew I was in a battle. He was the leader, the guy who kept that unit together." Hall of Fame guard Joe DeLamielleure added that "You can’t think of his ten year period without him. I had to block Joe Greene and Merlin Olsen when I was playing and, believe me, Joe Klecko was equal to those two guys. If Joe Klecko had played one position for ten years, he’d have been considered one of the top two or three players at that position, whichever one it was. There’s not another player who went to the Pro Bowl at three different positions. You take a defensive end and put him at nose tackle and he’s just as good there, that’s a great player. We need to get Joe Klecko in the Hall of Fame."[7] On December 26, 2004, during a halftime ceremony, the Jets honored Klecko by retiring his #73 jersey. Klecko became just the third New York Jet to have his number retired, joining Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Namath and Hall of Fame wide receiver Don Maynard. On August 16, 2010, during halftime of the New York Giants-Jets preseason game at the New Meadowlands Stadium, Klecko was inducted as a member of the inaugural class into the Jets' Ring of Honor.
