Petition to put Joe Klecko in the Hall of Fame

[Golden Rott]

A group of fans have put together a petition to put Klecko in the Hall. All you have to have done is watch the guy play to know he belongs. A great player and a great Jet.

[TWEET]https://twitter.com/JetsFanMedia/status/618190984313196544[/TWEET]

 

[Elias]

I have signed. These are the same Fire idzik guys so they have some capabilities, maybe, to make a difference.

 

[NickSINYC]

He is may favorite all time Jet and a Hall Of Famer in my mind but I can't see how a petition helps him get in.

 

[cysporsche]

There are only two possible reasons to keep Klecko out of the HOF ? He was a NY Jet can't help, plus "rumor" of steroid use, otherwise the guy was an ANIMAL !

Go Jets...Cyborg

 

[Golden Rott]

He is may favorite all time Jet and a Hall Of Famer in my mind but I can't see how a petition helps him get in.

I agree -- chances that a petition help him get in is minimal. But as fans it makes us feel like we are supporting the guy. So it is probably more for Jet fans to show support for Klecko than to actually help him get in.

 

[Football51]

 

[HYATT™]

HoF voters are mostly media guys, and do have a strong(er) East Coast bias.
HYATT™ doesn't believe it can hurt to kick it up a notch under their very noses.
Because they are media types, that lack of a SB ring is always going to nag Klecko when consideration for a HoF berth crops up.

 

[flgreen]

Would love to see Joe in the HOF. Doubt it will ever happen. Joe did time in prison

 

[sg3]

And as for the "no rings" argument....

Two words

Dan Marino


and dozens of others that are in with no rings

 

[HYATT™]

And as for the "no rings" argument....

Two words

Dan Marino


and dozens of others that are in with no rings

HYATT™ isn't saying it's a GOOD argument against inclusion, just that it is in FACT, used in a discriminatory fashion BY HoF voters, just as character issues are - even though they aren't SUPPOSED to be considered.

It's not THAT unusual though.
LeRoy Butler revolutionized the Strong Safety position in the NFL and he's been passed over a few times now.
Butler is considered by many as one of the top 3 Strong Safetys to ever play the position, along with Lott & Polamalu - and Lott didn't even play SS that much, more FS and CB.

Anyway, I made MY testimonial on the petition - trademark ™ and all.

 

[jetgreen13]

 

[flgreen]

Klecko served a 3 month jail sentence for perjury in an insurance fraud case. Jail not prison. Perjury is not keeping him out of the HOF.

If it was the case, then OJ Should be kicked out of the HOF for all he's done. He is in prison.

It was a federal crime, and he actually spent time in federal prison, not county jail.

With that said, your point is well taken. It was a BS case that he was more stupid then a "bad guy". He only served 3 months. I believe 2 years court supervision, and 150 hours community service.

I agree, he belongs in the HOF, and the NFL HOF doesn't consider character issues, in theory (wink, wink). Just don't think in today's PC climate that they will induct him. Ya never know though maybe he'll get in as an old timer. it's worth the effort

 

[Savage69]

It was a federal crime, and he actually spent time in federal prison, not county jail.

With that said, your point is well taken. It was a BS case that he was more stupid then a "bad guy". He only served 3 months. I believe 2 years court supervision, and 150 hours community service.

I agree, he belongs in the HOF, and the NFL HOF doesn't consider character issues, in theory (wink, wink). Just don't think in today's PC climate that they will induct him. Ya never know though maybe he'll get in as an old timer. it's worth the effort

In 2016 I think 2 old timers will be allowed so he will have a good shot..

 

[HYATT™]

Says just Jail time in Joe Klecko wikipedia, so that's what i'm going by. But Wiki has been wrong before.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Klecko

Klecko perjury case details.
It WAS prison, and a halfway house after that.

 

[HYATT™]

The reason i think why these papers and wikipedia are saying he was let out of jail is that's where he goes first before prison. Usually takes 1 full year, then he is transported to prison. So he probably did just 3 months in jail under a prison sentence.

Typically nobody goes to prison for less than 1 year + 1 day.
365 days and they stay in the local lockup. Any more and it's off to the Big House.
The judge in that case, however, determined that Klecko needed to spend time in an actual Federal Prison.

Outside the courtroom, in an unlit service elevator entrance, Klecko stood alone and had one last good silent cry before being escorted to the U.S. Marshal's Office to be fingerprinted and photographed.

He must report to a federal prison in a week.

U.S. Circuit courts don't sentence people to local or county jails, they send them to FEDERAL Institutions and since the U.S. gummint doesn't operate ANY "jails", it's a foregone conclusion Klecko served his time in an ACTUAL Federal penitentiary - although 3 months is really an unusally short stay at one of those places.

There's are other factors that are considered when discussing Klecko's career performance along the DL.
In his own words from a 1989 article:
Klecko said at a news conference at the Colts' headquarters. "My time has passed," he said. "When I came in the league, and even four or five years ago, I remember playing against centers who were 250 or 260 pounds. This year, I played against nine guys that were 290 pounds."

The game changed, and Klecko was becoming less dominant because the competition became stiffer.
If his career is placed in context against what today's DL players have to contend with, it's not nearly as impressive that he shoved around guys weighing 40 pounds less.
Of course the failure of that logic is that it removes him from his era and judges him by a different standard than the other players who also played then and were inducted anyway.

Also, in 2005 he was involved in a traffic accident that killed a pedestrian.
It wasn't his fault - obstructions blocked his view - but local media mavens DO remember he was involved in a traffic death and he was the driver of the car involved.

The Mitchell Report also spilled the beans on more than a few NFL players in it's day.
Both Gastineau and Klecko admitted using steroids, though Klecko claimed it was only for off-season strong man contests.

The point that HYATT™ is making here is that while the HoF voters are not SUPPOSED to consider factors beyond the gridiron, they are human beings and do.
So many players did NOT have any such taints about them and so HoF voters do not have moral issues with voting in "clean" guys.
You can bet it's all that "other stuff" which has kept them from voting him in so far - because every time he comes up for consideration, there's another guy with far less baggage and a similar career record that let's then vote for that guy and walk away & RATIONALIZE having a clear conscience about it.

 

[Golden Rott]

http://www.metro.us/kristian-dyer/klecko-2-canton-movement-gaining-steam/zsJogt---tFHI1R2wjrWM6/

'Klecko 2 Canton' movement gaining steam

Joe Klecko should be in in bronze, that is the message from New York Jets fans to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. And it is a message that is gaining momentum.

A part of the famed "New York Sack Exchange" that ran rampant throughout the league in the late 70s and early 80s, Klecko is one of the names not in the Pro Football Hall of Fame that remains a bit of a head scratcher. He was a sixth round pick in the 1977 NFL Draft and became, arguably, the best player on one of the league's best ever defensive lines. His peers raved about him and he remains one of the most popular Jets in franchise history. Klecko was one of the first inductees into the team's Ring of Honor.

His numbers could have been far more impressive but the NFL didn't start counting sacks until 1982.

An online petition started earlier this month has over 1,200 signatures asking the hall's selection committee to enshrine Klecko.

“We have some plans in the coming weeks to draw more attention to the petition and we hope that it brings some awareness to the fact that Joe Klecko is more than deserving of this great honor,” said Jason Koeppel, who founded the "Klecko 2 Canton" movement. Koeppel was also one of the moving forces behind FireJohnIdzik.com, a site dedicated to ousting the Jets' former general manager. “It really is hard to say why he has not been inducted yet. A four time Pro Bowler at three different positions on the defensive line - the only player to ever do that - and two-time All-Pro. He won AFC Defensive Player of the Year in 1981 after tallying an eye popping 20.5 sacks. Joe has the outspoken support of Hall of Famers like Howie Long, Anthony Munoz, Joe DeLamielleure, Dwight Stephenson and even highly respected writers like Peter King.”

Four times selected to the Pro Bowl, he was also twice an All-Pro. He was hurt by the fact that while he played defensive end, a switch to a 3-4 defensive front meant that he was bumped to the interior of the line, a role that required him to generate less of a pass rush. But he was nonetheless dominant and feared from the nose tackle position.

Despite former teammates and opponents vouching for Klecko, he still hasn't come close to standing in front of that podium.

Koeppel said that there are plans in the coming weeks to raise the awareness of the Klecko movement although he is pleased that the social media campaign has already generated over 1,200 signatures to date.