James Arthur Monk (born December 5, 1957) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for the Washington Redskins, the New York Jets and the Philadelphia 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 the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2008.
Early life
James Arthur Monk was born on December 5, 1957, in White Plains, New York.
College career
Monk attended and played college football at Syracuse University, where he was a four-year Orangemen letterman (1976–79). 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).
In 1984, Monk caught a then-NFL record 106 receptions for a career-best 1,372 yards." who became the first trio of wide receivers in NFL history to post 1,000-plus yards in the same season.
During Monk's 14 seasons with the Redskins, the team won three Super Bowls (XVII, XXII, and XXVI) and had only three losing seasons. He became the first player to eclipse 900 receptions, and pushed the record up to 940 before being overtaken by Jerry Rice in the final week of his last season (1995).
Career statistics
NFL
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible"
! colspan="2"| Legend
|-
| style="background:#afe6ba; width:3em;"|
| Won the Super Bowl
|-
| style="background:#cfecec; width:3em;"|
| Led the league
|-
| Bold
| Career high
|}
Regular season
{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! rowspan="2"| Year
! rowspan="2"| Team
! colspan="2"| Games
! colspan="5"| 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 !! style="background:#afe6ba;"|WAS
| 9 || 9 || 35 || 447 || 12.8 || 43 || 1
|-
! 1983 !! WAS
| 12 || 11 || 47 || 746 || 15.9 || 43 || 5
|-
! 1984 !! WAS
| 16 || 16 || style="background:#cfecec;"|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 !! style="background:#afe6ba;"|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 !! style="background:#afe6ba;"|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
|-
! colspan="2"| Career !! 224 !! 194 !! 940 !! 12,721 !! 13.5 !! 79 !! 68
|}
Postseason
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! rowspan="2"| Year
! rowspan="2"| Team
! colspan="2"| Games
! colspan="5"| 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 !! style="background:#afe6ba;"|WAS
| 1 || 0 || 1 || 40 || 40.0 || 40 || 0
|-
! 1990 !! WAS
| 2 || 2 || 12 || 207 || 17.3 || 40 || 2
|-
! 1991 !! style="background:#afe6ba;"|WAS
| 3 || 3 || 15 || 252 || 16.8 || 45 || 1
|-
! 1992 !! WAS
| 2 || 2 || 5 || 79 || 15.8 || 37 || 0
|-
! colspan="2"| Career !! 15 !! 14 !! 69 !! 1,062 !! 15.4 !! 48 !! 7
|}
College
{| class="wikitable
|-
! colspan="2"| Legend
|-
| style="background:#ff0; width:3em;"|
| NCAA record
|-
| style="background:#afe6ba; width:3em;"|
| Led the NCAA
|-
| style="background:#e0cef2; width:3em;"|
| Independent record
|-
| style="background:#cfecec; width:3em;"|
| Led Independents
|-
| Bold
| Career high
|}
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|+College receiving & rushing statistics*
|-
! rowspan="2"| Season
! rowspan="2"| Team
! rowspan="2"| GP
! colspan="4"| Receiving
! colspan="4"| 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
|-
! colspan="2"| Career !! 44 !! 102 !! 1,644 !! 16.1 !! 9 !! 254 !! 1,174 !! 4.6 !! 4
|}<nowiki>*</nowiki> Includes bowl games.
Career highlights
Awards and honors
NFL
- 3× Super Bowl champion (XVII, XXII, XXVI)
- 2× First-team All-Pro (1984, 1985)
- 3× Pro Bowl (1984–1986)
- NFL receptions leader (1984)
- NFL 1980s All-Decade Team
- PFWA All-Rookie Team (1980)
- Washington Commanders 90 Greatest
- Washington Commanders Ring of Fame
- Washington Commanders No. 81 retired
- Pro Football Hall of Fame (2008)
College
- First-team All-American (1979)
- First-team All-East (1979)
- College Football Hall of Fame (2012)
Other honors
- Elected to Syracuse University Board of Trustees
Business
Monk is executive and co-founder of Alliant Merchant Services, an electronic payment services company located in Northern Virginia. 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.