Thirty years after he retired as the league’s all-time receptions leader, and 17 years after he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, legendary receiver Art Monk’s jersey No. 81 is being officially retired.
The announcement was met with a lot of “What took you so long?” from Washington Commanders fans.
Monk’s jersey, along with many others, had been out of circulation, or unofficially retired, since he left the game back in 1995. At that point, the franchise had only one officially retired number —the No. 33 worn by the first true great in Washington football history, Sammy Baugh.