Marshall University Athletics
Marshall Athletics Hall of Fame
- Induction:
- 1989
- Class:
- 1983
Recruited to play baseball at Marshall by Coach Jack Cook, Jeff Montgomery wasted no time in making his mark with the Thundering Herd. An all-state selection in both baseball and football at Wellston (Ohio) High School, as a 1981 freshman, he helped Marshall to the Southern Conference championship, logging a 5-3 record and 2.73 ERA, posting four shutouts along the way, earning him the league’s Freshman of the Year Award. As a sophomore, Montgomery tossed seven complete games on the way to a 6-4 record, and he went 5-4 in 1983. Montgomery received the Charlie Kautz Award for outstanding academics all three years he played for Marshall. Following his junior season, Montgomery turned pro after being drafted in the ninth round of the MLB Draft by the Cincinnati Reds. After appearing in 14 games for the Reds in the 1987 season, he was traded to the Kansas City Royals and spent the rest of his career with that organization, becoming one of the best relief pitchers in baseball.
Montgomery would go on to save 304 games over the course of his career, including an American League leading 45 in 1993. He was just the 10th player in Major League history to record at least 300 saves. Montgomery pitched in the All-Star game in 1992 and 1993 and was selected for the game again in 1996. Montgomery was inducted into the Kansas City Royals Hall of Fame in 2003 and was inducted into the Marshall Athletic Hall of Fame in 1989.
