FORMER TEMPLE GREAT JOE KLECKO TO HAVE JERSEY RETIRED BY NY JETS

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - The New York Jets will retire former all-pro and former Temple defensive lineman Joe Klecko's number 73 jersey on Dec. 26 in a nationally televised game between the Jets and New England. Klecko's son Dan, who was a four-year starter for the Owls under Bobby Wallace and was the 2002 Big East Conference Defensive Player of the Year, is in his second season as a DL/LB with the Patriots but is currently on injured reserve due to a knee injury.

Klecko, the first player in professional football history to be selected to the Pro Bowl at three different positions (DE, NT and DT), will become the first defensive player in team history to have his number retired. In addition, Klecko will become just the third Jet to have his number retired, joining Hall of Fame QB Joe Namath and Hall of Fame WR Don Maynard. 

A four-year letterwinner for the Owls from 1973-76, making 373 career tackles, Klecko was selected in the sixth round of the 1977 NFL Draft by the Jets and played for the team from 1977-1987. He played in 140 career regular season games with the Green and White and tallied 761 tackles (490 solo), the eighth-most tackles in club history. Klecko, one of the pillars of the famed "New York Sack Exchange," had 77.5 career sacks, the second-most in team history. 

Both Kleckos earned All-America status during their tenures on North Broad Street. Joe was a two-time (1974-75) Associated Press All-American under head coach Wayne Hardin while Dan was an AP All-American under Wallace in 2002. Joe donned number 72 as an Owl, while Dan sported No. 73, the number his father wore during his 12 NFL seasons with the Jets and Colts (1988).

Temple University Athletics

FORMER TEMPLE GREAT JOE KLECKO TO HAVE JERSEY RETIRED BY NY JETS

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