It was exactly twenty five years ago today – October 22, 1992 – that the Art Monk career reception record took place on Monday Night Football. He broke the all time NFL mark against the Denver Broncos.
So celebrate your Throwback Thursday by Hail-ing the greatest receiver in Redskins history:
The Catch
With the Redskins already dominating the Denver Broncos 34-3, Joe Gibbs deliberately padded the final drive so Monk could get the record. Monk caught three consecutive passes. The third one — a 10-yard completion from Mark Rypien near the Broncos’ sideline with 3:12 remaining — was his 820th career reception, moving him one past Steve Largent’s previous mark of 819.
Monk was immediately mobbed by teammates, who lifted him onto their shoulders as the RFK crowd roared. He finished the night with 7 catches for 69 yards and later said he was relieved to have the record behind him after weeks of buildup.
940
Ultimately Monk would finish his career with 940 receptions
The Art Monk career receptions record would be broken by Jerry Rice in 1995.
Monk also finished with the most consecutive games with a catch (183), and the first player in the league to score a touchdown in 15 consecutive seasons. He was aslo the first player to record at least 35 catches in the same 15 consecutive years.
888 of those 940 catches were with the Redskins. and he converted almost two thirds of those into first downs.
He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2008. He received one of the best receptions any inductee has ever received:
Hail!