Art Monk Returns to WPHS as “Hometown Hall of Famer”
On May 18, the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the Ford Motor Company paid tribute to one of White Plains High School’s most admired alumni, Art Monk, designating him a “Hometown Hall of Famer” hero.
Monk graduated from White Plains High School in 1976, after an illustrious athletic career in football and track & field. He also excelled in academics, which helped him receive a scholarship to Syracuse University, where he graduated in 1979.
Monk played wide receiver for the Orangemen and led the team in receiving for three years (1977-‘79). He still remains in the top ten of several football career-statistics at Syracuse, including receptions, all-time receiving yards and receiving yards per game. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2012.
Monk was drafted in the first round of the 1980 NFL Draft by the Washington Redskins and was a unanimous choice for NFL Rookie of the Year his rookie season. He played 14 seasons with the Redskins, where he won three Super Bowls (XVII, XXII, XXVI), before playing with the NY Jets and Philadelphia Eagles.
Monk retired from the NFL in 1996, after an outstanding 16-year career, where he totaled 940 receptions, 12,721 receiving-yards and 68 touchdowns, along with 332 rushing yards. Monk’s 940 career receptions was an NFL record, until it is was broken by Jerry Rice in 1995. Monk was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, on August 2, 2008.
Monk’s notoriety in college and the NFL has brought much attention to his high school alma mater White Plains High School. In fact, Monk credits the athletic foundation and education he attained at WPHS, as having a major impact on his success.
“I have traveled a long road since I left White Plains High School to attend college at Syracuse and make my football career and after life in the Washington D.C. area, but I still always remain a White Plains Tiger,” said Monk.
Monk returned to his alma mater in November 2015, to present WPHS with an “NFL Wilson Gold Football,” celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Super Bowl. The NFL designated all high schools where a player or coach attended who participated in any Super Bowl be eligible for grants from the NFL, for their high school athletic departments through the “NFL Gold Football” initiative.
Then on Wednesday, May 18, Monk returned once again to White Plains High School this time donned in his Pro Football Hall of Fame blazer to accept a plaque and be honored as a “Hometown Hall of Famer,” by the NFL and the Ford Motor Company.
The “Hometown Hall of Famer” is a national program and joint venture of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the Ford Motor Company, which honors the hometown roots of the greatest heroes of professional football with ceremonies and plaque dedications in local communities.
Therefore, White Plains High School has now become an official high school of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and is only one of 102 high schools in the country to receive this distinction. The “Hometown Hall of Famer” plaque presented to Monk at the ceremony detailing his many accomplishments during his 16-year career in the NFL, will hang at WPHS.
“Ford is proud to participate in this great initiative honoring local heroes. Ford and the Pro Football Hall of Fame share a commitment to excellence and it is truly an honor to join this organization in welcoming Art Monk back to White Plains for this special recognition,” said Jim Splendore, Regional Sales Manager for Ford Motor Company.
Monk was introduced at the “Hometown Hall of Famer” ceremony at WPHS, by his former Tigers teammate and quarterback Eric Eller. “He (Art) was willing to put forth the extra work to become better and to make himself great,” said Eller.
As Monk accepted his “Hometown Hall of Famer” Plaque, he made a point to stress to the students and current Tigers athletes in attendance in the Media Center at WPHS. “These people here really care about you and your success.” Nothing is more evidence of his words, than the success Monk attained after graduating from White Plains High School.
