Show Redskin Ex-Redskin Art Monk humbled by inclusion in Hall of Fame Y Jason Reid m The Washington Post After years of waiting for a aphone aphone aphone phone call that never came Art Monk focused on work to distract himself each time another group was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame But Monk a longtime standout wide receiver for the Washington Redskins had to change his routine Saturday when he was among six players including former Redskins teammate Darrell Green who were voted into this years year's class Monk received a standing ovation as he entered a downtown hotel to attend a news conference that former fonner Redskins defensive end Charles or I X Mann n M H i arranged to honor his friend and teammate Strangers congratulated Monk as he maneuvered through the crowd in the lobby thanking him for his consistency in a year 16 career that included 14 seasons and four Super Bowls three victories with the Redskins Monk was unable to finish the project he started Saturday but he didn't seem to mindI mind I never really expected this to happen even though there was the anticipation of it happening the past several years Monk said as he addressed reporters and TV cameramen from a podium I just sort of let it get by me without trying to notice it but but Im I'm extremely excited about the induction Im I'm also extremely humbled at the same time Never in my wildest dreams would I ever have imagined myself as a little boy getting to this point Whet Whether er I actually deserve to be here or not is for others to determine This is always something that was very unattainable for me growing up playing in the NFL and obviously being considered a Hall of Famer Farner Its It's a great honor An time eight-time finalist Monk 50 had not given up hope of being elected For his own peace of mind however Monk needed to distract himself Saturday He said he did not watch the selection show in the afternoon I was home just tf doing w some work he said Typically at this time of the year I just put my mind someplace else I watch TV I go out and do something just trying to keep myself busy I just tried tried to keep my mind off of it Monk should have been elected long ago Hall of Fame Coach Joe Gibbs said because of his importance to Gibbs' Gibbs success in his first stint with the organization One of the things on Arts Art's behalf is that he sacrificed for the team said Gibbs who resigned as team president and coach Jan 8 As most people know we used three wide receivers but Art was the inside portion of the three wide receivers We used him in there blocking a lot And a lot of the passes he he caught were across the m middle they were shorter passes passe and he actually sacrificed so much for the team If we had played h him m outside his average per catch and everything would have gone up The fact that he was so important to us and he was abig abig a abig big receiver we used him in a blocking role in there He was unselfish he sacrificed for the team and obviously he did a lot for us Obviously all three of those guys Monk Gary Clark and Ricky Sanders were fantastic for us they all played huge roles But Im I'm just thrilled that Art after fter this long wait and everything finally got in With his numbers and everything that he had and particularly what he did for us just he was deserving |