PHILADELPHIA -- Phillies chairman David Montgomery has been an important figure in Philadelphia for decades, and the Philadelphia Sports Writers Association is honoring him Feb. 1 at its 112th annual dinner in Cherry Hill, N.J., where he will be presented the Ed Snider Lifetime Distinguished Humanitarian Award.
The PSWA called Montgomery a "catalyst behind Phillies Charities, which … last year [raised] about $2 million in grants awarded to dozens of deserving charitable organizations."
"I don't think of myself as a humanitarian, but I do think of the team as such," Montgomery said in an interview posted at PSWAdinner.com. "I feel I'm kind of lucky [to be given this award]."
Montgomery said the award is "one more manifestation of how fortunate I've been in life: growing up in this city, going to school here, rooting for the Phillies [after going to] my first game in 1950 or '51.
"I was a fan in high school and as an undergraduate and graduate student at Penn. Here I am 45 years later working for the Phillies. Pretty fortunate; pretty lucky in life."
Montgomery served as team president from 1997-2014, during which the Phillies opened Citizens Bank Park, won five consecutive National League East championships from 2007-11, two NL pennants and the 2008 World Series.