‘He truly cared about everyone here’: Late president, CEO David Montgomery added to Phillies’ Wall of Fame

Pat Gillick grew up in California. He went to high school in Los Angeles and college at Southern Cal. In 2005, after building two World Series winners in Toronto and playoff teams in Baltimore and Seattle, he got an offer to come home as general manager of his hometown Dodgers.

Talk about a no-brainer.

Then, he spent a day with David Montgomery.

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“We had one meeting for four or five hours, and we kind of connected,” Gillick said. “I thought that he was the type of guy that I wanted to work for and the type of person that I would get along with. I told my wife that I’m going to Philly.”

Montgomery had that effect on most people, many of whom retold their stories about the personable Phillies president and CEO Saturday night after his posthumous induction to the team’s Wall of Fame as part of its annual Alumni Weekend.

Because amid the five division titles, two National League pennants, one World Series crown, 257 consecutive sellouts, a $2.5 billion television contract, and even the new ballpark that opened in 2004, his greatest mark on his hometown team was the inviting, collegial workplace that he created for everyone, from multimillionaire ballplayers to part-timers on the game day staff.

Juan Samuel characterized Montgomery as a “father figure,” and Doug Glanville thought it was an apt description. Not only did Montgomery attend the former center fielder’s father’s funeral in 2002, but he also traveled to North Carolina for Glanville’s wedding several years later.

“The attention to that family feeling was so present with him,” Glanville said. “There’s a lot of ways to be a [team] president or part of an ownership group. There’s a lot of philosophies of, stay out of the locker room or don’t talk to players. I appreciated that he decided that this is one family here, and it was important to him that he knew everybody.”

It was always that way with Montgomery. Born in Roxborough, he started with the Phillies as a sales apprentice in the ticket office in 1971, one year after graduating from Wharton School. He worked his way up to becoming director of sales and marketing and finally the head of the business department.

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Montgomery took over as team president in 1997 but never forgot his roots. He kept score of nearly every game, at the ballpark when the Phillies were home and off the TV broadcast when they were on the road.

When Montgomery died in 2019 after a five-year fight with jawbone cancer, former second baseman Mickey Morandini recalled that he knew not only the names of every Phillies employee but took an interest in their families, too.

The Phillies were noncontenders for much of Montgomery’s first half-decade at the helm. In the 2002-03 offseason, entering the final year of Veterans Stadium and with the opening of Citizens Bank Park on the horizon, the Phillies pursued slugger Jim Thome in free agency.

“There was this special kind of way that he touched you, and you could feel the passion that he truly wanted to bring a world championship here,” Thome said after making a speech in the pregame ceremony for Montgomery. “Along with that, the kindness and the genuine nature that he brought, you could feel instantly that he truly cared about everyone here and the whole family-oriented way that the Phillies have about their organization.”

The addition of Montgomery to the Wall of Fame coincided with the 20th anniversary of Citizens Bank Park. It seemed fitting, considering his considerable role in getting the ballpark built, with the city and state committing more than $200 million to its construction.

One of Montgomery’s favorite touches was the high, angular outfield wall in center field, an homage to Connie Mack Stadium. Montgomery thought it would create excitement — and maybe a few inside-the-park home runs.

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Sure enough, J.T. Realmuto hit a ball off the wall for an inside-the-parker in the 2022 division series against the Braves.

In a poignant touch, the Phillies named that part of the wall, over the 409-foot marker, “Monty’s Angle,” and marked the spot with a sign.

”I walk into this ballpark, and I just think it’s withstanding time beautifully,” Montgomery’s wife, Lyn, said. “It still looks as great to me as the first day I entered it. I think he would be happy about that.”