Letter from MSU meant much to Montgomery

Former Mississippi State head baseball coach and the late Paul Gregory sent a young pitcher a letter that invited him to come to Starkville and play for the Bulldogs.

At the time, it may have just seemed like words on a piece of paper, but it changed the life of Frank Montgomery forever.

Montgomery decided to take Gregory up on his offer, attend MSU and had an outstanding career as a lefthanded hurler.

Gregory was inducted into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame in 1999 and last Saturday joined the Ron Polk Ring of Honor. He was part of the class that included Richard Lee and Pete Young.

Montgomery said “it’s so meaningful” to hear Ron Polk read the names that are a part of the Bulldog greats in the Ring of Honor and to think that a career in Starkville could have easily not have happened for him.

“If I hadn’t gotten coach Gregory’s letter, I probably wouldn’t have gone to college and probably wouldn’t have played baseball anymore,” Montgomery said. “I was pretty good in legion and all of the way up. The whole bit. It just means everything. To think you might not have gone to college, have gotten a college degree, had the experience of college at Mississippi State, you are an alumnus and kept coming back to games once we got back in 87. Without baseball, I don’t know where I would be to this day.”

Montgomery became the first pitcher in MSU history with a minimum of 10 decisions to go undefeated in a season with a perfect 10-0 record in 1962 and was also the Southeastern Conference leader in wins, earned run average and strikeouts that year. As a result of those numbers, Montgomery earned ALL-SEC and ALLSEC Western Division honors on his way to becoming an All-american in 1962.

“Frank’s 1962 season might have been the best in Mississippi State history,” State Athletic Director John Cohen said.

Even though he put up incredible numbers, Montgomery said he does not deserve all of the credit.

“It was one of those years, but it’s about your teammates,” Montgomery said. “My freshman class and three more freshmen classes still have a reunion every year in West Point at Frank Portera’s place. The teammates are just a brotherhood.”

During his final two seasons as a Bulldogs, Montgomery had 190 strikeouts in 158 innings and ended up winning 16 career games.

“I did not lose a game through my junior year,” Montgomery said. “As a freshman, sophomore and junior, I did not lose a