Joe Klecko took down plenty of worthy adversaries during a storied NFL career with the New York Jets. One more formidable than the rest lingered: doubt from Pro Football Hall of Fame voters.
Klecko, however, appears to have entered Canton’s backfield and is closing in.
The famed metropolitan pass rusher took his biggest step toward a Canton bust on Tuesday, as the Hall’s Seniors Committee named Klecko as one of three players (alongside Chuck Howley and Ken Riley) chosen to appear on the formal ballot in January. Klecko’s next step is to garner 80 percent of votes from the full committee but, per ESPN’s Rich Cimini, such a process is seen as a “formality.