USATSI

Major League Baseball said goodbye to one of its most well-liked and successful executives on Wednesday, as the Philadelphia Phillies announced the death of longtime chairman and president David Montgomery. He was 72.

A Philly native who began working for the team in 1971 and went on to oversee both the opening of Citizens Bank Park and the Phillies' 2008 World Series title, Montgomery began battling cancer in 2014 but returned as a behind-the-scenes influence on the organization's front office a year later. Now, in the wake of his death, everyone from current and retired players to other teams and MLB commissioner Rob Manfred have offered condolences.

"The sadness across baseball, over the passing of one of its most beloved citizens, Phillies chairman David Montgomery, is almost indescribable," The Athletic's Jayson Stark tweeted Wednesday. "Baseball has never had a classier, more dignified, more respected, more upbeat ambassador than him."

"David was one of Philadelphia's most influential business and civic leaders in his generation," current Phillies owner John Middleton said through a team statement. "For 25 years, he has been an invaluable business partner and, more importantly, an invaluable friend. He was beloved by everyone at the Phillies."

Manfred echoed Middleton's remarks with his own testimony of Montgomery's character.

"David was a first-class representative of his hometown team, the Philadelphia Phillies, for nearly half a century," he said in a statement. "He never forgot his days as a fan at Connie Mack Stadium, and he carried those lessons to Veterans Stadium and Citizens Bank Park. David's approach to running the franchise and serving its fans was to treat everyone like family. He set an outstanding example in Philadelphia and throughout our game. David was one of my mentors in baseball and was universally regarded as an industry expert and leader. In recent years, I marveled at his courage as he battled cancer and through it all his amazing ability to think of others. I will remember David Montgomery as a gentleman and a man of great integrity."

Montgomery joined the Phillies' sales department in his first gig with the team in 1971, also serving as a scoreboard operator. From there, he worked his way up to personnel jobs and, in 1981, purchased the franchise along with honorary National League president Bill Giles. By 1997, he'd replaced Giles as team president by Giles' own recommendation. The first city native to operate the team for more than six decades, Montgomery helped open Citizens Bank Park in 2004 and oversaw five division championships, two NL pennants and the 2008 World Series title.

"One of Mr. Montgomery's most lasting imprints," Philly.com's Frank Fitzpatrick wrote, "likely will be the camaraderie he fostered throughout an organization now widely seen as having one of baseball's most collegial atmospheres."

"I believe that whatever capacity you work for us, you determine the Phillies family," Montgomery said in March 2018 during a ceremony at which the team named a Clearwater training facility in his honor, per Fitzpatrick. "I believe that. As a family member, it's our responsibility to treat you like family and get to know you the best we can ... The best way to treat fans right is to treat the people you work with right."