Art Monk Denied Admission to the HoF

[dmek25]

does anyone have Gary Clark's career stats? and that theory is baloney, because we can say that Emmitt Smith was more of a threat then Irvin. and what memorable catch does Irvin have? i really cant see any justification for monk not being elected

[irish]

Originally Posted by 724Skinsfan

Hold on now, guys. It actually seems to me that irish thinks he should have gotten in at one time but now that more and more receivers are becoming eligible with greater numbers, his chances are greatly diminishing.

I don't think (correct me if I'm wrong, irish) that he's saying Art is not HOF worthy, it's just that he's going to keep dropping down the list of NFL receiving stats, which is a primary focus of the election process.

By the way, I totally believe and always will believe that Art Monk should be in so don't take this post as me saying the opposite. I just didn't want this day to turn into one where fellow Redskins fans attack one another.

United we stand!

You are correct. At the time he retired I thought he was a shoe-in for the HoF. Now in 2007 he has been gone for quite some time so he slips from memory and his stats keep slipping. When one looks at him in comparision to those that came after his stats are decent but just dont stand out as an obvious HoF choice. If he didnt get in within 2 or 3 years of his becomming eligible then I just see no way he's getting in now.

[skinsguy]

I can see where Irish is coming from with this. It is more of an argument of popularity....staying in the publics eye and reminding them of who you are, rather than to let your actions as a player and a person speak for themselves. If Monk got into the broadcast both Sunday in and Sunday, he would have been selected years ago. But, because he chose to take the road of being a normal person, walking away from the game completely and enjoying his life with his family, that isn't as impressive looking to the media. Until that changes, the selection process of the Hall of Fame will always be broken.

In a perfect world, players are chosen according to how they were as a player AND how they were as a person. By selecting players to the HoF, we are basically saying, these are the greatest players/persons to ever play the game of football. These guys are worthy of your worship. Now of course, I don't believe anybody is worthy of worship except for Jesus Christ, but you get the picture. Those who select these HoFer's don't consider substance abuse, violent and/or homicidal tendencies, being arrested......I believe a true Hall of Fame does look at the personal factors. I think is should be so selective, that only a very few should get in. Heck, there might only be one person who gets in per year, but that is the only way the HoF would be credible in my opinion.

[dmek25]

i am the opposite of this. i think players should be judged solely on the ability to play whatever sport they are talented in. but going strictly by stats alone, how is monk not in?

[12thMan]

Mark Schlereth (sp) (former Skin) just totally ripped the voters on ESPN for not voting Art Monk in. He said he was personally dumbfounded and called the 39 voters "clowns".

He was so livid, he referred to Monk as James Arthur Monk,...hillarious! He said no wide receiver deserves to be in the Hall before Monk, Irvin included. I was suprised that he called out Irvin like that.

[diehardskin2982]

a redskin won't get to the hall until danny is no longer our owner. It is a bias agianst Danny and the whole team has to suffer. these same guys who say it is time for monk to get in on tv probrally sit in that room and vote agianst him when it is all said and done

[NYCSkin]

Monk had no memorable catches? The most memorable thing about Michael Irvin catching the ball was that he most likely had just finished pushing off the DB.
I fear that Monk's chances at the Hall slip each year he is denied. I can see myself explaining to my son how great this guy was when Monk is in the "seniors" pool in 2025...

[12thMan]

There has to be some serious, well thought out protest as to why Monk hasn't been elected.

Let's face it, the media has spoken out; From ESPN to Fox to the NFL Today on down to the local sports pundits. I've heard them all get about as angry as one can get on public television. I've heard non-Redskins such as Howie Long, Tom Jackson, Steve Young, to just about every former Skin and coach make their thoughts known and what a travesty this is. Now how is it that all of these people, non-football and tons of former players are wrong, and yet these 39 so called 'writers' are correct?

Art Monk was Jerry Rice before Jerry Rice was. Art Monk personified class back then, the way people oooh and ahhh over Marvin Harrison today. Every single year when he get's snubbed, it's as if it's a suprise, but yet it isn't. He's constantly at the top of the 'snubbed' lists.

Soooo...if the media gets it, and they've chimed in, the Skins from top to bottom have voiced their opinion, we're really the only ones left to take a firm stance on the issue. I don't know, guys. But what I do know is, if Monk gets elected to Canton next year or next week!, it still won't be the same to me - it just won't.

The Hall of Fame means nothing to me now. It's just a building, a hollow building filled with nothing more than football memorabilia, yet no real sense of respect for the game or the players that have made it great. They should really turn it into some type of "museum" or perhaps a 'throwback' football jersey store. I really mean that. There is no way one can rightfully justify calling it the pro football hall of fame, and not elect the players that have made the biggest statistical contribution and have epitomized professionlism.

It's funny because many of Monk's stats are in the hall, but he isn't. Frankly, I think Art has probably moved on at this point. He's said nothing, as well he shouldn't. But the fans have to say something, and not on these dumb ass polls that the same guys who do the voting control.

[LBrown43]

Originally Posted by Sheriff Gonna Getcha

81 Reasons to Induct Art Monk (from another website).

1) 12,721 Receiving Yards (#9 all time, eight years after retirement)
2) 940 Receptions ( was #1, is now #5 eight years after retiring)
3) 68 Receiving Touchdowns (still in top 30, all time)
4) 224 Games played
5) Caught at least one pass in 183 consecutive games (once a record)
6) Helped Washington to three SB victories in four appearances.
7) Three consecutive Pro Bowl Selections
8) “Art was Jerry Rice before Jerry Rice was” – Joe Theismann
9) Record of 106 receptions in 1984 stood for eight years.
10) “Quiet about his work, very loud with his results” - Mark Rypien
11) First to record 106 receptions in one season
12) First to catch at least one pass in 164 consecutive games
13) First to catch more than 900 passes.
14) Caught 58 passes as a rookie, unanimous All-Rookie Selection
15) Redskins 1984 MVP
16) 50 or more reception in a season 9 times
17) 1,000 or more yards receiving in a season 5 times
18) Master of the medium route over the middle, aka “No Man’s Land”
19) First Redskin to produce 3 consecutive 1,000-yard seasons
20) Prototype for the modern receiver
21) 3-time 1st or 2nd team All-NFC Team selection
22) In ‘85, named to the Pro Football Weekly All-Pro Team
23) In ‘85, named to the Associated Press All-Pro Team
24) In ‘85, named to the UPI All-NFL Team
25) In ‘86, named to the UPI All-NFC Team
26) Founded the Good Samaritan Foundation, with teammates.
27) 1, 062 Playoff yards
28) Largent, Lofton and Stallworth are already in.
29) The consummate pro; made the big catch, went back to the huddle.
30) Not a “Hot Dog”; let his play on the field do all the talking.
31) Nicknamed “Money” by teammates, “Artist” by the fans
32) Founded the Student Training Opportunity Program, with teammates
33) Started the Art Monk Football Camp” in 1983, and it’s still going.
34) 16-year career, 0 arrests.
35) Named to TSN’s “100 Greatest Football Players” list
36) Never once disappointed the team or the fans, on the field or off.
37) A first round draft pick that played like a first round draft pick.
38) Has more career catches than anyone currently in the Hall.
39) Putting loud jerks in over Monk sends the wrong message to kids.
40) Art does not lobby to get himself inducted
41) First down machine on 3rd and long
42) Still holds the club record for catches in a season (106)
43) Still holds the club record for passes caught in a game (13, twice)
44) Honored as one of the “Washingtonians of the Year” in 1992
45) Focuses on the forgotten “high school aged” youth in DC.
46) “I don’t know about the criteria, but whatever it is, I believe Art has achieved it” –Joe Theismann
47) “He was big, he was strong, and he was intelligent. He had everything”-Joe Gibbs, HOF inductee
48) “Art Monk was an example for Jerry Rice. That’s what Jerry always told me.”- Ronnie Lott, HOF inductee
49) “There’s nothing negative to say. He has the numbers, the catches, the championships.” –Lott
50) “Spend a day with Art Monk, and your life will improve by 10%”- Theismann
51) “You have a Hall of Fame for all it represents. I know he represents all that it’s about. Integrity, love and passion for the game, community, what he gave back. Look how he conducted himself. Nobody I know deserves it more.” –Lott
52) If he doesn’t get in, they might as well close the Hall.
53) “There was never a classier player in this franchise’s history, or in league history, than Art Monk. You always knew the team would be getting Art Monk’s best effort day in and day out.” –Charlie Casserly
54) “Monk is headed to Canton downhill on roller skates”- Bill Parcells, 1995
55) Only one other player, linebacker Monte Coleman, has been on the field for the Redskins more than Monk.
56) Art Monk is almost as proud of his relative anonymity as he is the record-setting numbers he compiled over a 16-year NFL career.
57) When Monk spoke, it was usually with tough catches in the clutch moments of big games.
58) Nothing came naturally for Monk, who spent countless hours on the practice field and many more behind the projector.
59) I never saw Monk drop a pass. Period.
60) Monk’s 40-yard catch with eight minutes left in the first quarter of SBXXII was Doug Williams’ first completion of what would be a record setting game.
61) Named in a 1992 poll during the team’s 50th Anniversary Season as the most popular Redskin of all time.
62) Participates in a “Kid’s Fishing Day” for underprivileged kids
63) Has performed with the National Symphony Orchestra, reciting children’s fairy tales with musical accompaniment.
64) “He’s more than just his receptions. Few players have been able to achieve what he’s achieved.” –Richie Petitbon
65) “He is a gifted athlete who takes great care of himself. He’s a guy who works at his craft, and responds to any challenge. However, he does it so quietly that his accomplishments are sometimes overlooked.”- Joe Gibbs
66) Selected to the 1989 All-Madden Team
67) Early in his career, Art arranged and scheduled charity basketball games for the Redskins.
68) “I can’t see how a receiver could be more valuable to a team.” –Gibbs
69) Fame is often hard earned. Character is often elusive to define. A man of great character himself, Art Monk encompasses what it means to be a candidate for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
70) Monk wasn’t a “SportsCenter” type of receiver — more like a “Masterpiece Theatre” type.
71) You wouldn’t see Monk pull out a Sharpie to sign a ball after scoring a touchdown.
72) “He embodied the old school, and for that alone he should be enshrined so that when a father takes his son through the Hall of Fame, he can say, “Son, here is a man who once caught 106 passes in a season when no one was catching 100 passes. Here was a man who caught a pass in 183 straight games. And not once did he ever pull a cell phone out to make a call after any of those catches.” –Thomas Loverro, Washington Times
73) Football is a game of first downs and Monk was the receiver who would move the chains.
74) He has since been passed in this pass-crazy era, but in the context of when he played, Art Monk was a Hall of Fame receiver.
75) He did this while never playing with a Hall of Fame-caliber quarterback.
76) Critics will say Monk benefited from playing in Joe Gibbs’ system. What might be the case is that the Gibbs system benefited from having Monk.
77) “I believe he’s a Hall of Famer. I was a pro scout when he was playing, so it was my job to know who those guys were. I would put Art in that category, but apparently there are a lot of Hall of Fame voters who don’t feel Art Monk was in that category. It’s hard for me to believe they ever saw him play.” –Bill Polian, President Indianapolis Colts
78) He was the anti-Terrell Owens.
79) He was the standard-bearer, the mold-maker and the receiver every team of his era wished they’d had.
80) He’s already a Hall Of Famer off the field.
81) It’s time.

AMEN!!!!!

[dall-assblows]

what's so great about art anyways? all abstract and shit.

[Pocket$ $traight]

You know what is absolute proof that the Hall voting is horseshit?

Stallworth and Swann are Hall of Famers. The fact that those two are in and Monk isn't shows that the Hall of Fame has zero credibility.

catches - yards - TDs - Pro-bowls - Championships
Monk 940- 12721 - 68 - 3 - 3
Stallworth 537 - 8723 - 63 - 3 4
Swann 336 - 5462 - 51 - 3 - 4

Just for a frame of reference....
Clark 699 - 10856 - 68 - 4 - 2

and last but not least.... Every prostitute's favorite family man.... The Captain of Crack/Cocaine. Michael Irvin

Irvin 750 - 11904 - 65 - 5 - 3

Monk even beats Captain Crackpipe in every category except Pro-bowls (another beauty contest).


The Hall of Fame 90% popularity and 10% production.

Hall of Fame voters can go f*ck themselves if you ask me. In reality, the award means nothing.

[SUNRA]

Originally Posted by Grim21Reaper

You know what is absolute proof that the Hall voting is horseshit?

Stallworth and Swann are Hall of Famers. The fact that those two are in and Monk isn't shows that the Hall of Fame has zero credibility.

catches - yards - TDs - Pro-bowls - Championships
Monk 940- 12721 - 68 - 3 - 3
Stallworth 537 - 8723 - 63 - 3 4
Swann 336 - 5462 - 51 - 3 - 4

Just for a frame of reference....
Clark 699 - 10856 - 68 - 4 - 2

and last but not least.... Every prostitute's favorite family man.... The Captain of Crack/Cocaine. Michael Irvin

Irvin 750 - 11904 - 65 - 5 - 3

Monk even beats Captain Crackpipe in every category except Pro-bowls (another beauty contest).


The Hall of Fame 90% popularity and 10% production.

Hall of Fame voters can go f*ck themselves if you ask me. In reality, the award means nothing.

If Art Monk ever gets in, can you imagine the size of the crowd that would bum rush Akron, Ohio? I don't think any of those bastards who voted against him want to see that.

[skinsguy]

Originally Posted by dmek25

i am the opposite of this. i think players should be judged solely on the ability to play whatever sport they are talented in. but going strictly by stats alone, how is monk not in?

Going strictly by stats alone, there is no excuse. How the person plays the game can be interpreted in several different ways. Both WRs helped their team to win 3 Super Bowl championships, so Irvins has no edge there. As far as making spectacular catches, well, that is a matter of opinion. No matter how one will try to argue against Monk, there are just as many reasons...actually twice as many reasons for Monk to be in the HoF. It comes down to the fact that Michael Irvins is keeping himself fresh in the media's mind by being a football analyst. If Monk had done the samething, he would have been in the Hall much sooner. It's really all about hall of fame voting being a big fat joke. If you give the media what they want, they will return the favor. If you fall off the face of the earth after your career, you are forgotten. It is just as simple as that. That is why I say those who vote players in should take the player as a person in as high of regards, as the guy being the football player. As much as I loved Manley's aggression on the field, I would not support him being in the HoF with the way he led is life off the field. The same could be said for the original L.T. I believe truly great players are those who were great players on the field, and great people off the field. Those are the guys I'd want my kids looking up to.

[RobH4413]

I'm so effin pissed. I've spent way to much time commiserating with basically everyone that isn't a HOF voter.

I'm so disgusted with the NFL right now.

[Luxorreb]

NFL should tighten up on PRO BOWL and HOF admissions. TOTAL BS. Makes me wanna get into the NBA or something more fun, cause this shzit it BS!!!