Receiver Art Monk will be the sixth person with Syracuse ties to be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday.
Monk's Hall of Fame Enshrinement on Tap
8/1/2008 10:12:08 AM | Football
Monk's Presence Off the Field is Priceless
Art Monk's Bio
Art Monk will don the canary yellow jacket, a legendary symbol of elite status in professional football, this weekend when he is enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Monk, who will be honored with five others on Saturday, August 2, in Canton, Ohio, was the Washington Redskins first round draft selection out of Syracuse in 1980. The 18th overall pick in the draft, Monk became one of the top receivers in the National Football League. He is the sixth enshrinee with ties to Syracuse University, joining Jim Brown, Jim Ringo, Larry Csonka, Al Davis and John Mackey. Syracuse is one of just nine schools to have at least six alums in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Art Monk's Bio
Art Monk will don the canary yellow jacket, a legendary symbol of elite status in professional football, this weekend when he is enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Monk, who will be honored with five others on Saturday, August 2, in Canton, Ohio, was the Washington Redskins first round draft selection out of Syracuse in 1980. The 18th overall pick in the draft, Monk became one of the top receivers in the National Football League. He is the sixth enshrinee with ties to Syracuse University, joining Jim Brown, Jim Ringo, Larry Csonka, Al Davis and John Mackey. Syracuse is one of just nine schools to have at least six alums in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Throughout his career Monk used his 6-foot-3, 210 pound frame, and his strength to his advantage. He was like a bullet off the line of scrimmage and was never intimidated out of running patterns across the middle of the field. As a rookie, Monk caught 58 passes to set a Redskin’s rookie record and earn All-Rookie honors in 1980.
A two-time Super Bowl Champion who played in three NFL Championship games, Monk vividly recalls the NFC title game victory in RFK Stadium that propelled the Redskins to Super Bowl XVII.
“At the 1982 NFC Championship game people were just jumping up and down and it was so loud in there and it was just probably the most exciting moment of my career,” he said. “No one really gave us a chance to win that game and, in fact, the Dallas Cowboys came to the game packed and ready to go to the Super Bowl from there. It was just a tremendous game.”
In 1984 Monk set a then-NFL record with 106 receptions, and gained a career-best 1,372 yards. He had five games with 100 or more receiving yards, caught eight or more passes in six games, including a career day of 10 receptions for 200 yards against the San Francisco 49ers. These numbers earned him his first Pro Bowl selection, All-NFC, and Redskins team MVP honors.
Monk’s success continued. In both 1985 and 1986 Monk surpassed the 1,000-yards receiving mark and became the first Redskin’s receiver to produce three consecutive 1,000-yard seasons and the first to catch 70 or more passes in three consecutive seasons. He earned All-Pro and All-NFC honors in 1985 and in was named a second-team All-NFC selection in 1986. Monk competed in three Pro Bowls and was later named to the NFL’s 1980s All-Decade Team.
In 1992, Monk became the NFL’s then-all-time leader in receptions with 820 and was the first wide receiver in the NFL to eclipse 900 career receptions. In addition, Monk set an NFL record with a streak of 183 games with a reception.
Monk, who is a member of the Syracuse University Board of Trustees, closed his NFL career playing for the New York Jets in 1994 and for the Philadelphia Eagles in 1995. During his 16-year NFL career, Monk gained 12,721 yards on 940 receptions and scored 68 touchdowns in 224 games.
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