Chuck Howley, Joe Klecko and Ken Riley have been named the first three senior finalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2023.
In an effort to boost the number of inductees amid a perception that some worthy players have been overlooked, the Hall of Fame allowed three seniors to make it straight through to the final vote of the full Hall of Fame Selection Committee. All three of them will be inducted in the Class of 2023 if they all get 80 percent of the vote from the Selection Committee. That seems likely.
In addition to Howley, Klecko and Riley, the Selection Committee will choose one coach or contributor and up to five modern era players for the Class of 2023, meaning as many as nine new Hall of Famers could be inducted next summer.
Howley was a first-round draft pick of the Bears in 1958 but was a backup as a rookie, played just three games in 1959 and didn’t play at all in 1960, and his career easily could have ended there. But after the Bears traded him to the Cowboys, he became an All-Pro linebacker, and the Super Bowl V MVP. That was bittersweet, as he is the only Super Bowl MVP from the losing team, but he helped the Cowboys win Super Bowl VI the next year.
Klecko was a defensive lineman for the Jets who was named a Pro Bowler as both a defensive end and defensive tackle, and he was a vital part of their “New York Sack Exchange” defense. As a defensive end he led the NFL with 20.5 sacks in 1981 (before sacks were an official statistic), and after a torn Achilles tendon ended his 1982 season, he moved to defensive tackle and returned to Pro Bowl form in 1983.
Riley was a college quarterback who moved to cornerback in 1969 with the Bengals and retired with 65 interceptions, which is the fifth most in NFL history. He played 15 seasons, all with the Bengals, and continued to play well to the end, recording eight interceptions including two pick-sixes in his final season at age 36. Riley died in 2020 at the age of 72.
The Seniors Committee chose Howley, Klecko and Riley over nine other semifinalists: Ken Anderson, Maxie Baughan, Randy Gradishar, Cecil Isbell, Bob Kuechenberg, Eddie Meador, Tommy Nobis, Sterling Sharpe and Everson Walls. After an initial discussion among Seniors Committee members, Gradishar, Kuechenberg and Sharpe advanced through an initial cutdown vote from 12 candidates to six.