Jets' Joe Klecko boxed with Smokin' Joe Frazier, enters Pro Football Hall of Fame with Joe Thomas
Two guys named Joe met for the first time as special Super Bowl guests, newly elected members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2023.
Joe Klecko Jr., an old New York Jets defensive lineman, sized up Joe Thomas, a Cleveland Browns offensive lineman of recent vintage.
They were kindred spirits from opposite sides of the trenches, both of whom got to the Hall of Fame without coming close to playing in a Super Bowl.
"I have kids older than you," Klecko, 69, said to Thomas, 38.
They wore the same number, 73.
Thomas, a genius technician who appreciates history, imagined blocking the relentless Klecko, and where his story began.
Joe Klecko's road to Canton started in Chester, Pennsylvania
It began south of Philadelphia, 15 miles downriver from the Liberty Bell, in the oldest city in Pennsylvania, Chester, one of the great World War II factory towns, but fast leaking jobs and population on the frontier of the Rust Belt.
The Kleckos' neighborhood was full of people with Polish roots.
Joe Jr.'s grandfather emigrated from Poland. His parents, Joe and Josephine, grew up during the Great Depression, when living in America was a fight for survival. Scrounging up work rather than playing sports was reality for Joe Klecko Sr.
Joe Jr. was one of four Baby Boomer siblings. He went out for football as a 1967 freshman at St. James Catholic High School for Boys. An old-school coach scared him off right away.
It was just as well. Working as a teenager ran in the family.
Joe Jr. found he enjoyed balancing high school with making money.
He made a name as a construction laborer and was entrusted to drive a dump truck. Eventually he became an in-demand tractor-trailer rig operator.
He bought a 1955 Chevy and raced it at a local drag strip. He was fast off the line.
He gave football another try as a senior. It took a few games, but he became a head-turning beast.
He emerged as a college defensive front prospect who would need work before getting enrolled. Making money seemed more appealing than prep school.
Semi-pro football helped land Joe Klecko at Temple University
The pro Seaboard Football League launched during Klecko's first football season out of high school. He joined the Aston Knights, who existed for three seasons.
Seaboard League quarterbacks could make as much as $600 a game. Typical pay was $50.
In 1972, the league's Long Island Chiefs faced New York Jets rookies in an exhibition game.
Klecko says he wasn't paid, although he played under the alias of "Jim Jones from Poland University."
A college team in Philadelphia, the Temple Owls hired Wayne Hardin as head coach in 1971.
Hardin, who coached famed quarterback Roger Staubach at Navy, convinced Klecko to come to Temple as an older freshman in 1973.
Playing middle guard, Klecko led the Owls in tackles in 1974, 1975 and 1976.
Klecko took up boxing and trained at Joe Frazier's gym. Both were heavyweight sluggers. They sometimes sparred, during the period when Frazier fought Muhammad Ali and George Foreman.
New York Jets get a draft steal with Joe Klecko in 1977
NFL scouts were interested but not awed.
The Browns could have landed Klecko at a bargain spot in the 1977 draft, but the defensive lineman they picked at No. 110 overall was Mickey Sims. Klecko went 144th overall to the Jets.
Would he have been a scheme fit for the Browns? He fit every scheme.
He made Pro Bowls for the Jets at defensive end, defensive tackle and nose guard, in 4-3 schemes and in 3-4s. He was good, and he was beloved. The Jets' only retired numbers are Joe Namath's 12, Don Maynard's 13, Curtis Martin's 28 and Klecko's 73.
Lou Holtz piloted the Jets in 1976 but hated coaching in the pros and quit. His replacement, Walt Michaels, was perfect for Klecko.
Michaels made five Pro Bowls in a row as a linebacker. He helped the Browns win NFL championships in 1954 and '55.
"Walt was everything to me," Klecko said. "If you messed up, he told you. If you played real well, it’s what you were supposed to do.
"Walt reminded me so much of my dad. Like my family, Walt was Polish. I respected him to death."
The current Jets are in the worst throes in franchise history, 12 straight years outside the playoffs. In Klecko's fourth year, they missed the postseason an 11th straight year.
Jets' "New York Sack Exchange" took shape over NFL Drafts from 1976-79
The defensive front four was a source of pride, though.
Tackle Larry Faulk, who later changed his name to Abdul Salaam, was drafted out of Kent State in 1976. Klecko arrived in 1977. Tackle Marty Lyons was a Round 1 pick (Alabama) in 1978. End Mark Gastineau (East Central Oklahoma) plugged in as a Round 2 pick in 1979.
The offense was weak. Namath's last year with the Jets was 1976. Replacement Richard Todd was a high draft pick from Namath's school, Alabama. He wasn't Broadway Joe.
While Klecko cranked out 20.5 sacks in 1980, Todd threw 30 interceptions. The team went 4-12.
The best of times came in 1981. The best game came against the other New York team. Giants QB Phil Simms took nine sacks. The Jets won 27-6. The Jets also had a nine-sack game at home vs. the Packers to end the regular season.
A magazine, The Jet Report, ran a nickname contest to honor the front four. Brooklyn police officer Dan O'Connor came up with "New York Sack Exchange."
Toward the end of a 10-2-1 hot streak, Klecko and the other three rang the opening bell on Wall Street.
The first playoff game since the '60s was over before it started. The Jets trailed the visiting Bills 24-0 in the second quarter at Shea Stadium, eventually losing 31-27.
Klecko never did get to enjoy postseason success, a reason he didn't make the Hall of Fame until now.
The 1982 Jets reached the AFC finals after going 6-3 in a strike-shortened regular season, but Klecko played in just two regular-season games because of a knee injury, and was not himself after reactivating for the playoffs.
He helped the 1985 Jets abuse Bernie Kosar and close the regular season with a 37-10 rout of the Browns, but the playoffs brought a first-round home loss to New England.
The 1986 Jets had a playoff win at Cleveland in the bag, but the Browns made a miracle comeback. Klecko didn't suit up, out with an injury.
Knee issues spilled into 1987, when he played his last seven games for the Jets before they released him. At age 35, he started for a 1988 Colts team that went 9-7. It was his last year.
"You block him": Fellow NFL stars knew Joe Klecko belonged in the Hall of Fame
Klecko became eligible for the Hall of Fame in 1994. By 2010, when Howie Long went in as a defensive end, he already was saying Klecko's enshrinement was overdue.
"The fact he dominated at three different positions is pretty remarkable," Long said.
Hall of Famer John Hannah, who blocked Klecko as a Patriots guard, took it a step further in 2019, saying, "The Hall of Fame would be nice for Joe, but I think not having Joe in is really kind of a slur against the Hall of Fame."
After Klecko finally made it as a Seniors candidate, Namath was dispatched to his home to break the news.
“My wife and I were the only two people at home," Klecko said. "She is a very reserved lady. I had never seen her jump up and down. So it was kinda cool.”
Hall of Fame guard Joe DeLamilleure recalls going to the sidelines once after struggling to contain Klecko.
A Browns coach told DeLamilleure to step it up. DeLamielleure handed the coach his helmet and said, "You block him."
Reach Steve at steve.doerschuk@cantonrep.com
On Twitter: @sdoerschukREP
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Joe Klecko finally rings Pro Football Hall of Fame bell
