John Elway and Barry Sanders are locks to be elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame this year. Their induction ceremony promises to be a huge event with the two former superstars standing center stage; which is why it is a perfect year for Art Monk to finally be voted into Canton.
All of his career Art Monk always played second fiddle. Whether it was to Riggo, Doug or Gary Clark on the Redskins or to Steve Largent or Jerry Rice in the NFL, Monk was never looked at as a superstar. And Art Monk would be the first to agree.
And if he went in to the Hall this year, Monk would gladly stand in the background as Elway and Sanders garnered most of the attention. But if that doesn't happen, and Monk is left out for yet another yeart, it won’t eat at him. See, Art Monk is not Pete Rose. He doesn’t need to be in the Hall of Fame. But it sure would be nice.

Monk never was a superstar. Superstars need to have either gaudy numbers with lots of scores or a good endzone dance, and Monk had neither. He was happy to let Gary Clark and Ricky Sanders catch more touchdowns, or to see Gerald Riggs rumble into the endzone for a score. Monk cared about winning and he did whatever he could to ensure that the Redskins did. He ran precise routes, even when he wasn’t the primary receiver. He blocked as well as a finesse receiver can and he always made the key 1st down catch when the ball came his way. Art Monk was a winner; his three Super Bowl rings are proof of that.
While Monk didn’t have any spectacular statistical seasons (except for his record-breaking 106 catch 1984, a mark that stood for nine years until Herman Moore bested it), he had 13 solid ones. He only led the Redskins in receptions for 6 of his 14 seasons and never reached the endzone more than eight times. Only five times did he gain more than 1,000 receiving yards. And he only made the Pro Bowl three times. But, at the time of his retirement, Art Monk was the all-time leader in receptions, with 940 and was third in receiving yards. He also had the record for most consecutive games with a catch. Monk had over 12,000 receiving yards and 68 touchdowns. Most of which (save for his ill-fated years with the Jets and Eagles in the mid-90’s) were accumulated with two other excellent receivers, All-Pro Gary Clark and Ricky Sanders, lined up next to him. And during his Redskins career Monk caught passes from Joe Thiesmann, Mike Kruczek, Jay Schroeder, Doug Williams, Mark Rypien, Stan Humphries, Jeff Rutledge, Rich Gannon and Cary Conklin. Compare that to Jerry Rice who had Joe Montana, Steve Young and a new and improved Rich Gannon slinging balls his way during his career.
Currently, Monk is 5th in career receptions and 9th in receiving yards (amazing, considering he was used as the possession receiver in Joe Gibbs offense).
Maybe those numbers aren’t Hall-of-Fame worthy, especially in the era of pass-happy offenses (Monk’s 106 single-season receptions has been bested 22 separate times, a list that includes Brett Perriman and Terrence Mathis). But, when compared to other Hall-of-Fame receivers, it is clear Monk deserves to have his bust in Canton.

Charlie Joiner 750 catches 12146 yards 65 TD’s
John Stallworth 537 catches 8723 yards 62 TD’s
Lynn Swann 336 catches 5598 yards 43 TD’s
Art Monk 940 catches 12721 yards 68 TD’s

Comparing stats in the NFL is misleading, because the game has undergone so many transformations since its inception. Listed above are three of Monk’s contemporaries who are in the Hall of Fame, which should provide a decent frame of reference. As you can see, Monk has higher totals than all of these players. Swann and Stallworth’s numbers could be interpreted as being a bit low because they played on the same team for many of their years. But, their total catches combined don’t equal Art Monk’s. Both Stallworth and Swann played on Super Bowl champions and made memorable catches during the games. Perhaps the only reason Stallworth was elected into the Hall was because of his circus catch against the Rams in Super Bowl XIV. This is not to suggest that Swann and Stallworth are undeserving of the honor that they earned, but if they are in, why not Art?
Sports Illustrated’s Dr. Z says that a Hall of Fame wideout needs to be able to stretch the field, and Monk didn’t do that, so he doesn’t belong. With all due respect to Dr. Z, saying a wideout needs to stretch the field to gain induction is like saying a quarterback needs to be mobile. Both are only one skill of the position. Monk opened the field up for his teammates by unselfishly running the 8-yard hooks that Dr. Z decries. Hey Doc, you don’t need to be a deep threat to be a dangerous receiver.
I don’t know why Art Monk hasn’t been elected into the Hall of Fame yet. I guess each voter, like the good Doctor, has their reasons. Maybe it’s because Monk wasn’t all that memorable. He was never one to seek the spotlight and was never a go-to guy in the locker room for quotes. He didn’t do commercials or throw temper tantrums on the sidlines. He didn’t show up his coach by questioning the play calls or take a shot at his quarterback for not throwing him the ball. Maybe nobody votes for Art Monk because they don’t remember Art Monk.
He deserves to be with Stallworth and Swann and Largent and Gifford and the other great receivers in the Hall of Fame. Hopefully one day, voters will realize that Art Monk was one of the greatest wideouts to ever play in the NFL and will vote him into the place he deserves to be.
It’s a shame; if he hadn’t been so classy, if he’d celebrated his touchdowns and wore fur coats to the stadium, if he went on TV every week and talked about how great he was, maybe Art Monk wouldn’t be so easily forgotten.