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Joe Klecko belongs in the Hall of fame, Plain and Simple- Bleacher Report

Kentucky Jet

By Kentucky Jet
in NY Jets Forum

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Kentucky Jet

Kentucky Jet

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Plain and Simple, Joe Klecko Belongs In Canton

by John Fennelly Written on March 29, 2010 Al Bello/Getty Images I don't usually get involved with Hall-of-Fame campaigns, but recently I have become fed-up with the continual exclusion of Joe Klecko's name from the Pro Football Hall-of-Fame ballot.

I realize any campaign is political in nature. There's a lot of work to generate a buzz and a groundswell in order to launch it to the next level. You basically have to sell the candidate to the voters.

Klecko's candidacy should not require such arduous impetus. His record and his reputation should speak for itself. He is the first player in NFL history to be elected to the Pro Bowl at three different positions.

Contemporaries such as Hall-of-Famers Joe DeLamielleure, Anthony Munoz, and Dwight Stephenson all list Joe as one of the best players

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Kentucky Jet

Kentucky Jet

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Hear, Hear!

Klecko's is the most egregious exclusion. The Pro-Football Hall of Fame is an illegitimate enterprise as long as he is not a member.

well guys, how about we start the ball rolling again and make some noise? IMO JOE strongly deserves inclusion into the Hall of Fame. I am aslo fighting to get GIL HODGES, the old Brooklyn Dodger first base great into the baseball HoF. The old timers commitee voted against his inclusion a few years ago because the late TED WILLIAMS felt that there were too many old Brooklyn Dodgers in the HoF and wanted his teammate DOM DiMAGGIO included first!

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Biggs

Biggs

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i think klecko should be in the hall.....but i'm not gonna devote any of my time to getting him in there because i don't care enough, lol

Joe was great but I thought he was borderline and certainly no more deserving than Marvin Powell and behind Winston Hill as deserving entry.

The HOF is always a tough call for lineman. While most Jets fans think Curtis Martin is a mortal first ballot lock, I would argue that Kevin Mawae was substantially better at center historically than Curtis was at RB and more deserving of first ballot consideration when the time comes.

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neckdemon

neckdemon

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Joe was great but I thought he was borderline and certainly no more deserving than Marvin Powell and behind Winston Hill as deserving entry.

The HOF is always a tough call for lineman. While most Jets fans think Curtis Martin is a mortal first ballot lock, I would argue that Kevin Mawae was substantially better at center historically than Curtis was at RB and more deserving of first ballot consideration when the time comes.

i think martin will get in. watching curtia martin play i don't think he was a hall of fame rb. he was a solid, dependable rb for sure. he was even one of my favortie jets because of his depndabiltiy and his work ethic. but never was he elite. he compiled enough stats over a long enough period that he will get in.

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Biggs

Biggs

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i think martin will get in. watching curtia martin play i don't think he was a hall of fame rb. he was a solid, dependable rb for sure. he was even one of my favortie jets because of his depndabiltiy and his work ethic. but never was he elite. he compiled enough stats over a long enough period that he will get in.

Martin for sure will get in maybe not first ballot but I see him getting in easier than Mawae who for my money was simply more deserving based on excellence at his position comparatively and he has the longevity.

The reason I think Klecko is borderline is looking at the HOF players on the DL who were his contemporaries most of them were simply better longer. Certainly I think Klecko was as good as Dan Hampton who probably got in for being a dominating player on one of the great SB defenses of all time but I don't believe Klecko was as good and as good for as long as guys like Jack Youngblood, Reggie White, Fred Dean, Randy White and Joe Greene. Those guys are the gold standard for when Klecko played and they were simply better longer.

Marvin Powell has 3 all pro's and no Jets fans take about him being snubbed for the HOF. He is every bit as deserving as Klecko.

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aec4

aec4

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Plain and Simple, Joe Klecko Belongs In Canton

by John Fennelly Written on March 29, 2010 Al Bello/Getty Images I don't usually get involved with Hall-of-Fame campaigns, but recently I have become fed-up with the continual exclusion of Joe Klecko's name from the Pro Football Hall-of-Fame ballot.

I realize any campaign is political in nature. There's a lot of work to generate a buzz and a groundswell in order to launch it to the next level. You basically have to sell the candidate to the voters.

Klecko's candidacy should not require such arduous impetus. His record and his reputation should speak for itself. He is the first player in NFL history to be elected to the Pro Bowl at three different positions.

Contemporaries such as Hall-of-Famers Joe DeLamielleure, Anthony Munoz, and Dwight Stephenson all list Joe as one of the best players

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Larz

Larz

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I remember some HOF selection show where they said lineman are a tough call, unless they have stats or a signature move like deacon jones' head slap

I almost vomited

klecko has the sack numbers, and didn't he start the whole "****ed" NT stance ?

total crime he isn't in the HOF

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Klecko73isGod

Klecko73isGod

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I remember some HOF selection show where they said lineman are a tough call, unless they have stats or a signature move like deacon jones' head slap

I almost vomited

klecko has the sack numbers, and didn't he start the whole "****ed" NT stance ?

total crime he isn't in the HOF

The problem is that he doesn't have the sack numbers. He had his two biggest sack-total seasons, including a 20-sack year, prior to it becoming an official stat so the fantasy stat-obsessed geeks on the selection committee like John Clayton don't consider him worthy because he doesn't have numbers that get them excited in the bathing suit area. :rolleyes:

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Biggs

Biggs

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So says the dude who played two minor league baseball games so he thinks his opinion has more value than the rest of ours. :rolleyes:

He's not in for a reason. He's contemporaries who are in where either outright better performed at a higher level longer or were as good and have a ring.

The rest of our opinions with the exception of any HOF voters on the board are pretty much of similar value.

If you look at his contemporaries who made the HOF they all have a better argument to be in than Kelcko. There are a couple who come to mind that Klecko compares to who have rings but they probably shouldn

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Mentos

Mentos

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I think Klecko should be in the HOF. I can somewhat understand some of the arguments against him, so I don't think it is the greatest HOF travesty ever. Now Winston Hill ... that is the greatest HOF travesty ever.

just a little jets bias there, just a little

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NIGHT STALKER

NIGHT STALKER

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just a little jets bias there, just a little

Biased? I hope you're kidding or you're not old enough to remember the "anchor" of that OL SB winning team...the guy is an 8 time pro bowler with a SB ring...a lot of borderline linemen make the HOF because of winning a ring...Hill wasn't borderline, he was great...plus the ring.

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Mentos

Mentos

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Biased? I hope you're kidding or you're not old enough to remember the "anchor" of that OL SB winning team...the guy is an 8 time pro bowler with a SB ring...a lot of borderline linemen make the HOF because of winning a ring...Hill wasn't borderline, he was great...plus the ring.

The guy calls Hill the greatest HOF travesty ever. That's a little much.

Hill's never been a finalist.

There are more deserving candidates than Hill. That's what I was trying to convey above.

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DMaynard

DMaynard

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The guy calls Hill the greatest HOF travesty ever. That's a little much.

Hill's never been a finalist.

There are more deserving candidates than Hill. That's what I was trying to convey above.

I stand by what I said. The fact that an o-lineman from the AFL has never been a finalist is not surprising. The dopes just discovered in the last few years who Billy Shaw and Elvin Bethea were. If you never saw Hill play, and are interested, I will be happy to enlighten you as to the specific reasons Hill was so great. Then you can give me the specifics of who you think is a greater travesty, and we can let the board judge.

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#27TheDominator

#27TheDominator

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The guy calls Hill the greatest HOF travesty ever. That's a little much.

Hill's never been a finalist.

There are more deserving candidates than Hill. That's what I was trying to convey above.

Not being a finalist isn't exactly a criteria. The judgement of those idiots is what we're complaining about in the first place.

FWIW, I think Winston Hill retired before I was 10 years old and left the Jets when I was 8 and I still remember him. It's not from ESPN Classic either.

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Biggs

Biggs

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I stand by what I said. The fact that an o-lineman from the AFL has never been a finalist is not surprising. The dopes just discovered in the last few years who Billy Shaw and Elvin Bethea were. If you never saw Hill play, and are interested, I will be happy to enlighten you as to the specific reasons Hill was so great. Then you can give me the specifics of who you think is a greater travesty, and we can let the board judge.

Ron Mix is in the HOF. Gene Upshaw like Hill played in the AFL and in the merged league. Mix did also but was essentially in based on the AFL since he played only 1 year in the merged league.

Hill was great but I can see why he wasn't a candidate. The Jets OL while great was essentially a pass blocking OL. In that era the NFL was a running league. Hill proved his greatness in the SB where against a great defense and at the time what was considered one of the great D-lines every, Hill was basically the best player on the field. Hill created a total mismatch in that game which the Jets exploited over and over again.

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DMaynard

DMaynard

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Ron Mix is in the HOF. Gene Upshaw like Hill played in the AFL and in the merged league. Mix did also but was essentially in based on the AFL since he played only 1 year in the merged league.

Hill was great but I can see why he wasn't a candidate. The Jets OL while great was essentially a pass blocking OL. In that era the NFL was a running league. Hill proved his greatness in the SB where against a great defense and at the time what was considered one of the great D-lines every, Hill was basically the best player on the field. Hill created a total mismatch in that game which the Jets exploited over and over again.

Mix and Upshaw got in early. Mix got a lot of attention being on the great Charger teams of the mid sixties and Upshaw became more well known after he retired for his work in the Union in addition to being a great player. For a long time afterward, the AFL players were kind of forgotten (notice the late recent additions of Shaw and Bethea). And Hill was an exceptional run blocker. He happened to play with Namath on a pass oriented team. But when the Jets ran, they probably ran more to the weak side than any other team. And that was due to Hill.

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Biggs

Biggs

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Mix and Upshaw got in early. Mix got a lot of attention being on the great Charger teams of the mid sixties and Upshaw became more well known after he retired for his work in the Union in addition to being a great player. For a long time afterward, the AFL players were kind of forgotten (notice the late recent additions of Shaw and Bethea). And Hill was an exceptional run blocker. He happened to play with Namath on a pass oriented team. But when the Jets ran, they probably ran more to the weak side than any other team. And that was due to Hill.

I love Hill and think he is a more worthy candidate than Klecko who I think is a marginal candidate.

Bethea played almost his entire career in the merged league. He was drafted in 68.

Shaw played on a run oriented Bills team and I believe that's why he eventually got in. I agree with you about Hill who was a devestating run blocker but the Jets while a very good running team where essentially a passing team. While pass blocking was important pro football at least the majority of it was still essentially a running game. Hill may have been over looked because of it and he may have be intentionally slighted by his over powering performance in the SB which pissed off the establishment in pro football at the time.

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bitonti

bitonti

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mark gastineau held the NFL's sack record for a couple decades... until favre laid down and gave it to Strahan

why isn't he in the hall?

same reason as klecko: No ring and bad off the field stuff. Klecko's tax fraud is never talked about but it's a real issue for HOF voters.

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