I don't know how true it is, but I've read that several sportswriters think his committing fraud (or attempting to, or whatever crime he committed after he retired from the NFL) is what is really keeping him out. What are your thoughts on that?
I think he was convicted of perjury. If it’s true that that’s keeping him out than I guess LT and ray Lewis should be out too,no? Personally, I don’t think that’s holding him back
Agree with NC, I think his conviction, which I thought was tax evasion, is the reason. Remember, Lewis was not convicted. If memory serves me (and these days that's not a given) LT was voted in before he was convicted. Edit -- Klecko -- Convicted of perjury in an insurance fraud case, 1993. Sentenced to 3 months in jail. Also involved in a car accident that killed a pedestrian. No charges filed. Taylor -- Inducted in 1999, Arrested for having sex with a minor in 2010. Had previous run-ins with the NFL and law over use of drugs.
I think so too. I think the post-football shop he owned where he was letting his customers make false claims against their insurance companies really did a number on him. Don't get the insurance companies mad at you there's no percentage in that.
One-eyed receiver with enough depth perception to track Richard Todd and Matt Robinson's heaves down the field. That's got to be hall worthy in itself.
I did not get to watch Klecko play, but I do like reading about him from you guys and watching highlights. I wish I could have seen The Sack Exchange live and in person.
I think you have a point in that lack of team success plays a big part in who gets in. Had walker been on a consistently winning team, he would get in. Nevertheless, committing a crime appears to be the kiss of death. Gastineau, also deserves to be in based on his play, but has many strikes against him including strike breaking and an arrest for drug trafficking.
A bit of a technicality with Lewis,he plead guilty to obstruction of a murder case. The charges were dropped after he served his probation. Everyone knows he knows who killed that man that night. But he won a super bowl so.....
If any of Klecko, Walker, Gastineau or Toon had been on a SB winning team they likely would have gotten in.
Listen to former Buffalo Bills HOF OL Joe Demielleure on Joe Klecko. He would know as he faced him twice a year. Joe DeLamielleure On Joe Klecko's Hall Of Fame Case: "He Dominated At Three Positions" - Bing video
Klecko was always going to be a borderline case due to the injuries, the Jets never winning big with him in the picture and the post-career legal issues. As a Jets fan it is a tragedy to me that he has so far fallen on the wrong side of the border. He's my favorite player of all time and I got to see him make plays that nobody else could have made. The other related tragedy was the Paul Zimmerman stroke. Dr. Z was the guy who made the presentations for Jets candidates to the Hall of Fame nominating committee and he only got to do that once for Klecko before the stroke felled him. I think Zimmerman would have gotten Klecko over the finish line eventually, albeit with a lot of hard work in the presentations. Dr. Z, BTW, is my favorite all time sports reporter. Funniest dude you ever saw interview or interviewed in the sports world.
Ask again in 30 years and it's gonna be: "Klecko. It's a crime he never got in. And Deshawn Watson needs to get in too. Best QB we ever had, led us to 3 championships"
Dr. Z was Sports Illustrated's NFL reporter before Peter King. He also worked for the Daily News in the 60's and early 70's before getting the SI gig. He was the guy who covered the Jets SB run in '68. That's what got him noticed nationally for the first time.
