 Monk at the USDA 150th Anniversary celebration in 2012 | |||||||||
| No. 81, 85 | |||||||||
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| Position | Wide receiver | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born | (1957-12-05)December 5, 1957 (age 67) White Plains, New York, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||||
| Weight | 210 lb (95 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school | White Plains | ||||||||
| College | Syracuse (1976–1979) | ||||||||
| NFL draft | 1980: 1st round, 18th overall pick | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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James Arthur Monk (born December 5, 1957) is an American former professionalfootball player who was awide receiver in theNational Football League (NFL) for theWashington Redskins, theNew York Jets and thePhiladelphia Eagles. He is considered by many NFL players, coaches, and analysts to be one of the greatest wide receivers of all time. Monk was inducted into thePro Football Hall of Fame in 2008.
He is a relative (first cousin once removed) of jazz pioneerThelonious Monk.[1]
Monk attended and playedcollege football atSyracuse University, where he was a four-yearOrangemenletterman (1976–79).[2] He led the team in receiving in 1977, 1978, and 1979 and still ranks in the top 10 on several school career record lists, including career receptions (sixth), all-time receiving yards (seventh), and receiving yards per game (ninth).[2] While there, Monk was a graduate of the College of Visual and Performing Arts.[2]
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| NCAA Record | |
| Led the NCAA | |
| Independent record | |
| Led Independents | |
| Bold | Career high |
| Season | Team | GP | Receiving | Rushing | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rec | Yds | Avg | TD | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | |||
| 1976 | Syracuse | 11 | 2 | 45 | 22.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 |
| 1977 | Syracuse | 11 | 41 | 590 | 14.4 | 4 | 110 | 566 | 5.1 | 2 |
| 1978 | Syracuse | 11 | 19 | 293 | 15.4 | 2 | 136 | 573 | 4.2 | 2 |
| 1979 | Syracuse | 11 | 40 | 716 | 17.9 | 3 | 8 | 35 | 4.4 | 0 |
| Career[3] | 44 | 102 | 1,644 | 16.1 | 9 | 254 | 1,174 | 4.6 | 4 | |
* Includes bowl games.
Monk was selected in the first round of the1980 NFL draft by theWashington Redskins. During hisrookie year, he was a unanimous All-Rookie selection and had 58 receptions, which was a Redskin rookie record.[4]
In1984, Monk caught a then-NFL record 106 receptions for a career-best 1,372 yards.[4] He caught eight or more passes in six games, had five games of 100 yards or more, and in a game against theSan Francisco 49ers caught ten passes for 200 yards.[4] That season, he earned teamMVP honors and his firstPro Bowl selection. Monk went over the 1,000-yard mark in each of the following two seasons, becoming the first Redskins receiver to produce three consecutive 1,000-yard seasons. He also became the first Redskins player to catch 70 or more passes in three consecutive seasons.[4] In1989, he was part of a prolific wide receiver trio (along withGary Clark andRicky Sanders) nicknamed "The Posse,[5]" who became the first trio of wide receivers in NFL history to post 1,000-plus yards in the same season.[6]
During Monk's 14 seasons with the Redskins, the team won threeSuper Bowls (XVII,XXII, andXXVI) and had only three losing seasons.[4] He was anAll-Pro and All-NFC choice in1984 and1985 and was named second-team All-NFC in 1986. He was also selected to play in the Pro Bowl following the 1984, 1985 and 1986 seasons.[4]
Nine times during his 15-season career with the Redskins,New York Jets, andPhiladelphia Eagles, Monk exceeded 50 catches in a season and five times gained more than 1,000 receiving yards.[4] His record for most receptions in a season (106 in 1984) stood until broken bySterling Sharpe's 108 in 1992. He also set the record for career receptions when he caught his 820th in aMonday Night game againstDenver on October 12, 1992.[4][7] He became the first player to eclipse 900 receptions, and pushed the record up to 940 before being overtaken byJerry Rice in the final week of his last season (1995).[2] With the retirement ofJames Lofton in 1993, he was the NFL's active leader in career yards for just two weeks in 1994 before being passed byJerry Rice. He retired with the most consecutive games with a catch (183).[2][4] He was named to theNFL 1980s All-Decade Team.[2] Monk also became the first player in the league to record a touchdown reception in 15 consecutive seasons, as well as the first player ever to record at least 35 receptions in 15 consecutive seasons. Through the course of his 14 years with the Redskins, Monk converted nearly two-thirds of his 888 catches into first downs.[7]
On August 2, 2008, Monk, along with fellow Washington Redskins teammateDarrell Green, was inducted into thePro Football Hall of Fame. Upon his induction into the Hall of Fame, Monk received the longest standing ovation in Pro Football Hall of Fame history, lasting four minutes and four seconds when later timed byNFL Films. In 2012, Monk was inducted into theCollege Football Hall of Fame.
On July 15, 2025, theWashington Commanders announced they would retire Monk’s No. 81 jersey in the 2025 season. This would make him the sixth player in franchise history to receive the honor, joiningSammy Baugh,Bobby Mitchell,Sonny Jurgensen,Sean Taylor, andDarrell Green.[8]
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Won theSuper Bowl | |
| Led the league | |
| Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | Games | Receiving | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | ||
| 1980 | WAS | 16 | 11 | 58 | 797 | 13.7 | 54 | 3 |
| 1981 | WAS | 16 | 16 | 56 | 894 | 16.0 | 79 | 6 |
| 1982 | WAS | 9 | 9 | 35 | 447 | 12.8 | 43 | 1 |
| 1983 | WAS | 12 | 11 | 47 | 746 | 15.9 | 43 | 5 |
| 1984 | WAS | 16 | 16 | 106 | 1,372 | 12.9 | 72 | 7 |
| 1985 | WAS | 15 | 14 | 91 | 1,226 | 13.5 | 53 | 2 |
| 1986 | WAS | 16 | 16 | 73 | 1,068 | 14.6 | 69 | 4 |
| 1987 | WAS | 9 | 9 | 38 | 483 | 12.7 | 62 | 6 |
| 1988 | WAS | 16 | 13 | 72 | 946 | 13.1 | 46 | 5 |
| 1989 | WAS | 16 | 12 | 86 | 1,186 | 13.8 | 60 | 8 |
| 1990 | WAS | 16 | 16 | 68 | 770 | 11.3 | 44 | 5 |
| 1991 | WAS | 16 | 16 | 71 | 1,049 | 14.8 | 64 | 8 |
| 1992 | WAS | 16 | 14 | 46 | 644 | 14.0 | 49 | 3 |
| 1993 | WAS | 16 | 5 | 41 | 398 | 9.7 | 29 | 2 |
| 1994 | NYJ | 16 | 15 | 46 | 581 | 12.6 | 69 | 3 |
| 1995 | PHI | 3 | 1 | 6 | 114 | 19.0 | 36 | 0 |
| Career | 224 | 194 | 940 | 12,721 | 13.5 | 79 | 68 | |
| Year | Team | Games | Receiving | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | ||
| 1983 | WAS | 3 | 3 | 8 | 121 | 15.1 | 40 | 2 |
| 1984 | WAS | 1 | 1 | 10 | 122 | 12.2 | 35 | 0 |
| 1986 | WAS | 3 | 3 | 18 | 241 | 13.4 | 48 | 2 |
| 1987 | WAS | 1 | 0 | 1 | 40 | 40.0 | 40 | 0 |
| 1990 | WAS | 2 | 2 | 12 | 207 | 17.3 | 40 | 2 |
| 1991 | WAS | 3 | 3 | 15 | 252 | 16.8 | 45 | 1 |
| 1992 | WAS | 2 | 2 | 5 | 79 | 15.8 | 37 | 0 |
| Career | 15 | 14 | 69 | 1,062 | 15.4 | 48 | 7 | |
Career Statistics
Seasons among the league's top 10
Among the league's all-time top 20
Monk is executive and co-founder of Alliant Merchant Services, an electronic payment services company located inNorthern Virginia.[2]
A devout Christian, Monk helped found the Good Samaritan Foundation with his Washington teammatesCharles Mann,Tim Johnson andEarnest Byner.[2][10] The foundation provides youth with the environment needed to equip them with the skills, training and resources necessary to compete successfully in society through the Student Training Opportunity Program (STOP). The program serves more than 50 high school students four days a week during the school year and five days a week during the summer providing after-school programs, tutoring and mentoring.[2][10]
Founded in 1983, the Art Monk Football Camp has graduated over 14,000 athletes.[citation needed]
Art Monk—awards, championships, and honors | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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