Phillies to induct David Montgomery into Wall of Fame on Aug. 17

DETROIT — Never mind the five division titles, two pennants, and one World Series that the Phillies won — or even the shiny new ballpark they built — during David Montgomery’s tenure as team president.

His legacy is rooted in the culture of the organization.

And now, five years after his death, Montgomery will receive the Phillies’ highest honor. He will be inducted into the Wall of Fame in the left-field plaza at Citizens Bank Park in a pregame ceremony Aug. 17, the team announced Monday.

“As we commemorate the 20th anniversary of Citizens Bank Park, it is the perfect time to continue our celebration of the 2007-2011 teams who established Red October as one of the best experiences in all of sports,” owner John Middleton said in a statement. “No person deserves to be this year’s honoree more than David Montgomery, who led the effort to design and build our ballpark and presided over one of the best eras in Phillies baseball.”

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Born in 1946 in Roxborough, Montgomery attended his first game at Connie Mack Stadium at age 5, idolized Richie Ashburn, and snuck a transistor radio under the pillow to listen to late-night games. In 1971, he got hired by his favorite team as a sales apprentice in the ticket office for $8,000 a year, eventually rising to director of sales and marketing before heading the business department.

Montgomery was named executive vice president in 1981 after Bill Giles put together a group to buy the Phillies. He took over for Giles as team president in 1997 and held the position until taking a leave of absence in 2014 while undergoing treatment for jaw bone cancer.

Under Montgomery’s stewardship, the Phillies became known as an inviting, collegial place to work, whether you were a million-dollar ballplayer or a part-timer on the game-day staff. And their down-to-earth team president set the tone. He kept score of every game and was known for calling scouts during the season to see how they were holding up on the road. He made sure he knew the name of every employee, and then some.

“I’d be with him and he’d stop a security guard and he’d know the security guard’s wife and children,” former Phillies second baseman Mickey Morandini said after Montgomery died on May 8, 2019. “Then a front office guy would come and he knew his children. Then a custodian, and he knew the wife and children. It was utterly amazing how many people’s lives he touched.”

After the 2005 season, Pat Gillick had an opportunity to take over as general manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers, an attractive option for a Southern California native. Or he could return to scouting, his true passion. But after a four-hour meeting with Montgomery, he told his wife he was accepting a job as the Phillies GM.

“David had the ability to make every employee feel like they’re important or feel like they’re a part of the team,” Gillick said a few years ago. “He had a tremendous personality and a tremendous warmth to him. He was one of the most wonderful human beings I’ve ever come in contact with.”

Montgomery was instrumental in the construction of Citizens Bank Park, which opened 20 years ago. And from 2009 to 2012, the Phillies sold out 257 consecutive home games, then a National League record.

The induction will take place as part of the Phillies’ annual alumni weekend, scheduled for Aug. 16-18. Players who were with the team during Montgomery’s career, as well as Montgomery’s family and past Wall of Fame inductees, will participate in the on-field ceremony before the Aug. 17 game against the Nationals, according to the team.