By Thomas Hensch
One of the biggest travesties in professional sports history is the exclusion of former Jets great Joe Klecko from the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
The best description of Klecko came from legendary actor Jackie Gleason in the 1980 film "Smokey and the Bandit II.” Joe had a small part in this film playing himself, driving a tractor trailer, which Joe actually did in the offseason. In the scene, Gleason's character, Sheriff Buford T. Justice, confronts Klecko, who is in the driver’s side of the big rig, yelling and cursing at him to move the truck. Klecko gets out of the truck, and Sheriff Justice has this terrified look and says "Oh my God! It’s that big ‘ole bulldog, Joe Klecko" … and then Klecko bends his sheriff badge in half with his own bare hands.
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