Orange Watch: Time to retire Syracuse great Art Monk’s number

The Washington Commanders are finally retiring Art Monk's jersey number 81, and it is time for Syracuse to do the same.

Aug 3, 2008; Canton, OH, USA; Art Monk at the Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrinees roundtable at the Canton Civic Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Art Monk waited 13 long years to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2008.  Think about that.  Thirteen years for the wide receiver, who when he retired in 1995, was the NFL’s all-time career leader in receptions, with his numbers since eclipsed on multiple occasions. 

It then took the Washington franchise 17 years to recognize Monk’s greatness both on and off the field, with credit to relatively new majority owner Josh Harris, to push for Monk to become only the sixth player in the team’s 90-year plus history to have his number retired.

It was always easy to overlook the greatness of Art Monk

We were college contemporaries with Monk, who excelled at White Plains High School in Westchester Co. before becoming one of Frank Maloney’s top recruits in 1976. 

In fact, we had a Speech class together, and will always remember how quiet he was, and distinctly remember him telling the class while speaking in front of the group one day that his goal in life was to be a pro football player.

Monk was just as quiet as a professional, rarely speaking to the media, where he strictly let his actions do all the talking. He lettered at the ‘Cuse between 1976-79, was a first team All-American in the vagabond ’79 season with no home games, and was the Redskins first round draft choice in the 1980 NFL Draft.

He then went on to finish with 940 career NFL receptions, 12,721 receiving yards, 68 touchdowns, named a two-time All-Pro, three Pro Bowl selections, and a member of three Redskins Super Bowl championship squads. 

Better late than never for Syracuse to follow the Commanders' lead

Harris has now provided the university with an opening to do what is right.  Monk’s number 45 (a digit above the famed number 44) is the only Syracuse football number of a player enshrined in both the College and Pro Football Hall of Fames not to be retired.

In addition to All-American honors, Monk is also the only player in SU program history to lead the Orange in receiving for three consecutive seasons, averaging a school-record 47-yards receiving per game over his 35-game Orange career.

An Orange-man to the core

After his playing career, Monk has been involved with the university as a member of the Board of Trustees Executive Committee and Academic Affairs and Facilities committees, receiving the university’s highest alumni honor, the Arents Award in 2012. He is also the proud parent of a Syracuse grad, his daughter Monica is a member of the class of 2009.

“I can’t wait to have number 81 from Syracuse hanging out there with the flags (displayed),” Commander’s owner Harris said Tuesday in front of Monk’s central Florida home, where he was greeted by ex-teammates as well with the jersey retirement news.

Now it is time for number 45 from Syracuse to be hanging from high above the Dome’s southeast corner with the other jerseys of Syracuse football greats. 

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