Immortality on hold (warning, this will tick you off)

[jdlea]

Art Monk was probably in the top 3 receivers ever when he hung it up. He was the first man to catch 100 balls in a season and he even did it twice. Not to mention 5th all time in receptions. He belongs in the Hall.

[Beemnseven]

The thing is, Lynn Swann and John Stallworth are both in who have far less that Art Monk in terms of numbers. But since they were part of that magical Steelers dynasty, they basically get a free pass. Perhaps it's because they shined in the Super Bowl.

I think eventually Monk will get in. The article itself states that the issue simply will not go away especially with Andre Reed and Michael Irvin coming up for eligibility.

[Cowboyhater]

It is an outrage that Monk is not in the Hall. If I could I would have held up a "42-10" sign at Elway's induction in protest of Monk not being inducted.

I hope that the sportswriters have some secret plan to vote in Darrell and Art in the same class and they are just waiting for Darrell to become eligible.

[BrunellFan]

Originally Posted by Cowboyhater

It is an outrage that Monk is not in the Hall. If I could I would have held up a "42-10" sign at Elway's induction in protest of Monk not being inducted.

I hope that the sportswriters have some secret plan to vote in Darrell and Art in the same class and they are just waiting for Darrell to become eligible.

Interesting theory. It would be cool to have both of them inducted at the same time. However, I believe that Art Monk will get in there eventually, its just that this year's class had some really heavy hitters.

[sportscurmudgeon]

First of all, I believe Art Monk belongs in the HoF. If I had a vote, I would support him.

One thing working against him is that the voters seem to overvalue players who were on championship/playoff teams that had some "cachet". The Steelers' of the 70s were great teams but some of the players in the HoF from those teams do not measure up to the standards of players who have not been inducted. Now that Carl Eller is in the Hall, look for a big push to get Jim Marshall in there soon.

Monk's teams that appeared in 4 Super Bowls and won 3 of them had no national "presence". "The Hogs" were a local phenomenon; "The Diesel" didn't have a national following; "The Fun Bunch" was annoying back in its time even though it would hardly be considered "cutting edge" today. So Monk languishes...

Another thing working against him (and others mentioned in Ratto's column) is that the NFL HoF tries to limit the number of inductees each hear so that you rarely have an induction class of 8 or 10. The thinking is that by limiting numbers, you keep out the marginal selections. Oops, I guess that one did not work out quite right.

A third thing working against Monk is that he was never a "go to guy" for the writers/broadcasters. Monk was and is a quiet, introspective and reflective man; he had no bombast; he was not a journalist's dream. And who does the voting on HoF entry???

A fourth thing that is held against Monk is that he did not catch a lot of TD passes. Of course, those 950 or so catches did set up a lot of first downs that led to TDs scored by others, but I guess that's just a detail.

Cowboyhater, do not be surprised if Monk gets a big push the year Darrell Green is eligible. That is the kind of thing that can work with these voters because it gives them sone great storylines...

[SmootSmack]

I'm going to channel the spirit of SportsCurmudgeon for a second here and ask: Who's to say Darrell Green belongs in the Hall of Fame himself?

I used to think he was a lock. A first-ballot lock no less. 20 years with one team. 17th all-time in INTs, 3 SB wins. But if it's been this hard for Monk to make it I admit I have my doubts about Green getting in, or at least easily getting in