For new Pro Football Hall of Fameer, Joe Klecko, it all starts in the west end of Chester, writes Mike Jensen for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

“Chester made you tough. Chester was no walk in the park. A working-class town,” he said in a recent interview.

Klecko is a former defensive lineman for the New York Jets, part of the famous New York Sack Exchange. He’s been nominated several times for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

He’s also sparred with Joe Frazier.

Klecko started off as a Little League All-Star when he was 12, and switched to football when he was a senior at St. James High School.

Then it was semi-pro sandlot ball for the Aston Knights.

He made it to the Temple Owls on a full scholarship.

“I wasn’t going to pay for school,” Klecko said. “We were a normal working-class family. I went to work. I was driving a dump truck.”

Klecko also boxed a little at Temple and ended up at Joe Frazier’s gym in North Philadelphia as Frazier’s sparring partner.

Then in 1977, Klecko went to the Jets in the sixth round NFL draft. He played 11 seasons for the Jets and made it to the Pro Bowl four times.

Read more about Joe Klecko at The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Looking at the career of Joe Klecko.