Art Monk

James Arthur Monk (born December 5, 1957 in White Plains, New York), is a former American football wide receiver who played in the National Football League. Nicknamed "Quiet Man" or simply "#81" for his humble and professional demeanor, he played collegiately at Syracuse University as a running back. The Washington Redskins drafted Monk in 1980 and converted him to flanker, a position that he pioneered as a member of Coach Joe Gibbs' innovative offense. Along with Gary Clark and Ricky Sanders, he was part of a prolific wide receiver trio nicknamed "The Posse," as they became one of the rare trio of wide receivers in NFL history to post 1,000-plus yards in the same season (1989). At the end of his career, he played briefly for the New York Jets and the Philadelphia Eagles.

With the Redskins, Monk played in Super Bowl XVIII, Super Bowl XXII and Super Bowl XXVI. He also won a Super Bowl ring as a member of the team in Super Bowl XVII, but did not play in it due to injury. His most impressive Super Bowl performance was in Super Bowl XXVI, recording 7 catches for 113 yards. Monk finished his 16 NFL seasons with 940 receptions for 12,721 yards and 68 touchdowns, along with 332 rushing yards.

Monk's most noteworthy NFL accomplishment was his record for career receptions (940), broken by Jerry Rice during the final week of 1995, Monk's last season in the league. Despite being the first to eclipse 900 receptions, as well as retiring with the single season receptions record (106) and the most consecutive games with a catch (183), Art Monk has been passed over several times for entry into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Peter King and Paul Zimmerman of Sports Illustrated magazine have been outspoken about their respective decisions not to support Monk as a Hall of Fame nominee. However, Monk also has numerous supporters in the media including Washington Post sportswriter and ESPN personality Michael Wilbon his former coach Joe Gibbs Pat Kirwan , Indianapolis Colts President Bill Polian ^*," target="_blank" >and current Dallas Cowboys head coach Bill Parcells ^* On June 6, 2006, King announced that he was going to consult with Joe Gibbs, re-think his position on Monk, and consider voting in favor of enshrining him into the Hall of Fame.^*

From the modern era, there are 24 running backs in the Hall of Fame, 23 quarterbacks, but only 17 wide receivers. Monk was named the 91st best football player of all time by the Sporting News, ranking him behind only 8 receivers.

Art Monk helped found the Good Samaritan Foundation with his Washington teammates Charles Mann, Tim Johnson and Earnest Byner. Monk also lends his name to a youth/high school football camp.

Lifetime Statistics

Receiving	Rec.	Yards	Avg.	Long	TD
1980	58	797	13.7	54	3
1981	56	894	16.0	79	6
1982	35	447	12.8	43	1
1983	47	746	15.9	43	5
1984	106	1,372	12.9	72	7
1985	91	1,226	13.5	53	2
1986	73	1,068	14.6	69	4
1987	38	483	12.7	58	6
1988	72	946	13.1	46	5
1989	86	1,186	13.8	60	8
1990	68	770	11.3	44	5
1991	71	1,049	14.8	64	8
1992	46	644	14.0	49	3
1993	41	398	9.7	29	2
1994	46	581	12.3	N/A	3
1995	6	114	19.0	N/A	0
Total	940	12,721	13.5	79	68

Seasons among the league's top 10

Receptions: 1984-1, 1985-2, 1988-9t, 1989-3t

Receiving yards: 1984-4, 1985-3, 1989-10

Receiving TDs: 1991-9t

Among the league's all-time top 50

Receptions: 5

Receiving yards: 9

Receiving TDs: 29t

Yards from scrimmage: 26

Consecutive games with at least one reception: 2(183)

All-Rookie: 1980

3-time Pro Bowler: 1984, 1985, 1986

2-time All-Pro: 1984, 1985

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