Somewhere up there, Norman J. Kaner is smiling.

Norman? We just called him Norm.

Kaner was without a doubt the funniest professor who taught the best course I ever had at Temple University, Sports in America.

Little did he know sitting by the 13th Street window would be a future Maxwell Award-winner as college football’s national player of the year sitting in one seat and over in the next row a Pro Football Hall of Famer.

I observed all of this seated behind Steve Joachim, the Maxwell-winner for college player of the year, and next to now Pro Football Hall of Famer Joe Klecko. Joachim beat out Ohio State’s Archie Griffin for the honor back in 1974. Klecko beat out every Temple player who ever played in the NFL for the first spot in the Hall of Fame.

What a class in that one room at Temple taught by “probably Temple’s best-loved teacher. . . He touched everybody, and he kept in touch with his students over the years – students who went on to become doctors, lawyers, accountants, and other professionals.” That, according to Ambler professor and colleague Lee Schreiber.

Not surprisingly, in those days Temple had the longest FBS winning streak in the nation with 14 wins over two years. More consecutive wins than Oklahoma, Alabama, Ohio State and Penn State over a two-year period.

Kaner moved from the main campus to Ambler for the last seven years of his life before he died in March of 1993 but one of his pet peeves even back then was that his student, Klecko, wasn’t in the Hall of Fame. He wasn’t the only one. There was a website created by Jets’ fans called “Joe Klecko Deserves to be in the Hall of Fame.”

Years came and went and the list of players on the ballot was released and Klecko wasn’t on them. Until last year.

Justice was finally served on Saturday when Klecko was inducted in Canton. There was a healthy Temple representation, including 1979 captain Steve Conjar and teammates Mark Bresani and Mike Curcio, among others.

Klecko nodded to that group in the back saying: “I would like to recognize my teammates from Temple that are here today: Go Owls!”

Klecko could have said a lot more about Temple but this was the pro football Hall of Fame and he kept his remarks pretty much limited to that aspect of football. He did give props to former Temple head coach Wayne Hardin and Temple equipment manager John DiGregorio for “discovering” him and said it took Hardin one quarter of watching him play to offer him a scholarship.

If Dan Klecko had given the introduction, instead of Marty Lyons, chances are Dan would have brought up that both he and his father played pretty much the same position at Temple. Instead, Joe’s reference to Dan was his three Super Bowl rings and how Joe’s Hall of Fame bust topped Dan’s rings.

Fortunately, Dan and Joe and the rest of us lived to see this day. Justice for the living at least.

Kaner was one of those who didn’t but, if there is any justice for the departed, he, DiGregorio and Hardin were among those up there smiling.

Friday: Flying Low