An Unappreciated Work of Art

Art Monk's name won't be among those announced Saturday when the NFL unveils its Hall of Fame class of 2006. Nor will he be enshrined next year or the year after that. Art Monk is never going to get into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. And this is a travesty.
As more and more receivers with numbers similar to Monk become eligible for the Hall, the window of possiblity for the Washington Redskins' all-time leading receiver seems to have closed shut. After making the final-round of voting in each of his first three years of eligibility, Monk has failed to make it past the semi-finals in the past three.
With each passing year, Monk’s numbers look antiquated when compared to the gaudy stats put up by receivers currently in the offensive-friendly league. Voters might look at Monk's statistics and be unimpressed as good, but not great, receivers like Jimmy Smith and Keenan McCardell approach him in the record books. Smith is clearly not a Hall of Famer, so some will reason Art Monk shouldn’t be either.
They'll forget that Monk played in a different time though, when quarterbacks and receivers weren't protected like captains in the mob and offenses were more conservative.
Monk’s career began in 1980; to call him a contemporary of Michael Irvin simply because they played against one another is to change the meaning of the word.
Members of the Monk hatewagon (like Peter King) often argue that in 15 years Monk won't be in the Top 10 on the career receptions list. But that's not the issue. When he retired, Monk had the most catches of anybody who had every played the game - even though he played with Gary Clark, who averaged over 70 receptions per year during his stint with the Redskins.
If Monk had wanted, he could have caught 100 balls per season, but he knew that wouldn't help the team. He was content to let Clark and Ricky Sanders get their catches, as long as it led to Washington victories.
And that’s Monk’s main selling point as a Hall candidate: He was, undeniably, a winner.
Art Monk was an indispensable member of the Redskins’ three Super Bowl championship teams under Joe Gibbs. During that time, Monk and the Redskins were 16-5 in the playoffs, 3-1 in the Super Bowl and had the second-best record in the NFL behind the 49ers. Statistics can’t quantify Monk’s importance to those teams.
A huge knock on Monk is that he only made three Pro Bowls, but he should get credit for the four that his receiving mate Gary Clark went to, since it was Monk that would open up the field for Clark’s big plays. (And since when are Pro Bowls the measure of a man anyway. John Riggins only went to one and his bust is in Canton. Nobody respects the Pro Bowl, so why should HOF voters?)
It’s not like Monk’s numbers are pedestrian either. In 1984 he set the single-season reception mark with 106. Nobody in NFL history had reached 100 before and nobody would for another eight seasons. That record is long forgotten now since it has been bested on 22 separate occasions (including by legends like Brett Perriman and Terrence Mathis), but at the time it was considered a huge achievement.
When he retired Monk was the all-time leader in receptions, with 940. His 12,721 receiving yards were good for third. And until Jerry Rice bested the streak in 1998, Monk had the NFL record for most consecutive games with a catch.
Monk’s final stats (940 receptions, 12,721 yards, 68 touchdowns) were mostly accumulated (save for his ill-fated years with the Jets and Eagles in the mid-90’s) with two other excellent receivers, All-Pro Gary Clark and Ricky Sanders, lined up next to him. Also, 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.
With the talent next to him, the journeymen under center and the fact that he was used mainly as a possession receiver in Joe Gibbs’ offense, it’s amazing Monk is still 5th in career receptions and 9th in receiving yards.
Those are the numbers Hall of Fame voters in support of Monk, like Michael Wilbon and Leonard Shapiro, will bring up tomorrow in Detroit. Those opposed to Monk’s induction will mention that, except for that breakout 1984, Monk didn’t have many spectacular statistical seasons in his career (he had 13 solid ones). They’ll say Monk only led the Redskins in receptions for six 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.
But those numbers shouldn't count against Monk any more than his 940 career receptions should benefit him. Monk was about more than the stats. He brought everything to the table.
Art Monk was the guy to throw to when you needed a first down. His side was the side you ran a sweep to, because you knew he'd throw the perfect block. And when it was third-and-long and Joe Gibbs needed a receiver to run a crisp route and catch any ball that came his way, he went to Monk.
If he had a huge ego, Monk could have complained about not having a bigger role in the offense or held out for more money. He could have been a diva, but that wasn’t Art Monk’s way. He didn’t need to be a superstar. Superstars need to have MVP awards, 100 touchdowns or a good endzone dance, and Monk had none of those. He was happy to let Clark and Sanders catch more touchdowns, or to see Gerald Riggs rumble into the endzone for a score. Monk cared about winning and did whatever he could to ensure that the Redskins did.
If Monk played on a team that never won a Super Bowl, than his critics would be right: He wouldn’t belong in the Hall of Fame. But Monk has three rings and the numbers to back it up. Other receivers who experienced similar Super Bowl success have been voted into Canton with worse numbers than Monk. When looking at the statistics, it’s clear Monk deserves to join them:

Lynn Swann      336 catches   5,598 yards  43 TD
John Stallworth 537 catches   8,723 yards  62 TD
Charlie Joiner  750 catches  12,146 yards  65 TD
Michael Irvin   750 catches  11,904 yards  65 TD
Art Monk        940 catches  12,721 yards  68 TD

Comparing stats in the NFL is misleading, because the game has undergone so many transformations since its inception. Listed above are three players who were veterans when Monk entered the league. Michael Irvin, who missed induction last year, but will likely get in soon, is also included.
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, like Monk, and made memorable catches during the games, unlike Monk. (Although a Monk TD catch in Super Bowl XXVI was the first overturned touchdown via instant replay in Super Bowl history. Conversely, one of the main reasons 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. The Doc has to know that one doesn’t need to be a deep threat in order to be a dangerous receiver.
Now Michael Irvin is on the ballot, along with Monk, and it seems like only a matter of time before he gets into the Hall (likely next year).
Monk being left out of the Hall makes a mockery of the institution, but if Michael Irvin gets in before him then those hallowed halls will become a total joke.
In his career, Irvin had less yards, less catches and less touchdowns than Art Monk. Each has three Super Bowl rings, while Irvin has two more trips to Hawaii than Monk. (Not that Pro Bowls should be remotely considered when discussing the Hall. As stated above, everyone knows the Pro Bowl voting is a joke. I mean, come on… Michael Vick made it this year.)
The only reason that Irvin could possibly be considered a lock for the Hall while Monk will be left on the outside looking in is because Irvin was the “big play threat” in the Cowboys offense and Monk was just another possession receiver opening up the field for Gary Clark. (The numbers don't back up Irvin's reputation though.)
Of course, Michael Irvin was one of the flashier players of his era and that's why his name is often mentioned as Hall-worthy. All those flashy necklaces and earrings, three-piece suits and mink coats made Irvin memorable, as did the sordid tales of his arrests. And now, Irvin has a cushy gig on ESPN and, thus, is in the spotlight during football season.
Monk, on the other hand, probably wouldn’t be known by a majority of football fans, even though he clearly had better career numbers than Irvin. Outside of D.C., Art Monk could walk down the street without anybody recognizing him. Perhaps that’s why the momentum for his Hall candidacy has slowed in recent years. Maybe nobody votes for Art Monk because they don’t remember Art Monk.
Not that it’s all their fault. Monk isn't all that memorable because he simply 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, throw temper tantrums on the sidelines or get arrested in a hotel room with strippers and cocaine. 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. The cover spread in Sports Illustrated or the interviews on 60 Minutes? Those were for other guys. All Monk needed were those Super Bowl rings.
He deserves to be with Stallworth and Swann and Largent and Gifford and (soon-to-be) Irvin 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.

(This column originally appeared on January 14, 2004. It has been updated for today. For more on Monk, check out Jamie Mottram's excellent new site ElectArtMonk.com.)