Archives
12:20:00 PM EDT
Art Monk Is a HOFer
Marino, Young and Irvin are first-time nominees for this year's Hall of Fame class. Such a strong trio suggests that Monk (#81 in your playbook, #1 in my heart) will be wrongfully denied entrance for the 4th-straight painful year of induction.
This isn't just sour grapes from a 'Skins fan. Monk held the NFL records for career catches, season catches and longest games-w/-a-catch streak at different points in his career. The Artist is 5th on the all-time catches list and 9th in receiving yardage. He won 3 Super Bowls and had 1,062 playoff yards thanks in part to two 10-catch playoff games. And screw numbers, I never saw Monk drop a pass. The man had legendary hands.
It's doubly disappointing that comparable and even less-accomplished contemporaries such as Largent, Lofton and Stallworth are aleady in Canton. If guys like Andre Reed and Tim Brown start leapfrogging Monk to get in, I'm gonna puke on my keyboard and start an online petition to right the wrong.
PS: Just found this great piece on the subject by AOL Searching for 'art monk hall of fame': "Monk's style was graceful and physical, and was never afraid of crossing the middle. Monk was stellar in possession play and was immaculate in the corners and sidelines, showing the grace of a gazelle and the power of a bull as he fought off corners."
Written by dcsportsguy Blog about this entry |
Add to del.icio.us | 
digg this
-
You're right. How can Art Monk not make it into the HOF--especially since the guy who broke his consecutive-game receiving streak, Steve Largent, is already there? Art didn't win a Super Bowl until his third year, but he was a solid player before then--and even though he wasn't a deep threat like his Redskins teammates Gary Clark and Ricky Sanders, Art had the best hands of anybody in Washington. Plus, as you said, Art did great in the playoffs and the Super Bowl. He's been eligible for HOF induction for years. It's time he made it in.
-
Art Monk was one of the finest men who ever played the game of football - besides being a real gentleman. We all loved him and his accomplishments on the field and off. Time for him to be in the Hall of Fame. AliceG2728@aol.com
-
In addition to the points that Mr. Irrelevant made, Monk was considered to be the best route runner of the last 30 years. If the Redskins needed a big third down catch, Monk was the one to made it. He always conducted himself with class and humility. He was not a self-promoter and not one to talk to the media, the main reasons why he hasn't been elected. The guy had over 840 career catches and was the first player to catch over 100 in a season. The man not only deserves to be in the Hall, but it is a disgrace that he's not.
-
There's no question he deserves it. People penalize him for his records not standing up after time, but he was one of the premier receivers of his generation. Just being the #1 receiver on 3 Super Bowl teams should almost end the discussion right there. Throw in that he's still on multiple all-time lists, as dcsportsguy said, and that should make it a lock.
1/13/05 11:11 PM