Gregory Hugh Montgomery Jr. (October 29, 1964 – August 23, 2020) was an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was an

All-Pro All-Pro is an honor bestowed upon professional American football players that designates the best player at each position during a given season. All-Pro players are typically selected by press organizations, who select an "All-Pro team," a list t ...

punter for nine seasons in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). Born in

Morristown, New Jersey Morristown () is a Town (New Jersey), town in and the county seat of Morris County, New Jersey, Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.

, and raised in

Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , ) is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire (district), Shropshire, England. It is sited on the River Severn, northwest of Wolverhampton, west of Telford, southeast of Wrexham and north of Hereford. At the 2021 United ...

, Montgomery played football at Red Bank Regional High School, where he had hoped to be a linebacker rather than a punter. Montgomery spent his freshman collegiate year at Penn State, but then transferred to Michigan State, where his father had played

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

thirty years earlier. As a junior, he was honored by the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) as a first-team

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

, and as a senior he was selected to the second-team by

United Press International United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th ce ...

. In 1996, Montgomery was chosen for the MSU Centennial Super Squad. Montgomery was selected in the third round of the 1988 NFL draft by the

Houston Oilers The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston, Texas, from its founding in 1960 Houston Oilers season, 1960 to 1996 Houston Oilers season, 1996. The Houston Oilers began play as a charter member of the Ame ...

. From 1988 to 1997 he spent time with the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

, and

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...

. In his nine NFL seasons, Montgomery led the NFL in yards per punt average three times (1990, 1992, 1993), was selected to one

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (since 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's All-star, star players. The format has changed ...

and First-team

(1993), and finished his career with 22,831 punting yards and 120 punts inside the opponents 20 yard line. His longest punt of 77 yards was with the Houston Oilers.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Post-playing career

In 2003, Montgomery started ZenPunt 5.0, and was the company's president/CEO. Montgomery died on August 23, 2020, in

Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Rapids is the largest city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, United States. With a population of 198,917 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 200,117 in 2024, Grand Rapids is the List of municipalities ...

, after succumbing to a long-term illness.

References

External links

Greg Montgomery

Oilers' Montgomery dealing with bigger issues now

in the NFL - The Gregory Montgomery Story
{{DEFAULTSORT:Montgomery, Greg 1964 births 2020 deaths Players of American football from Morristown, New Jersey American football punters Michigan State Spartans football players Houston Oilers players Detroit Lions players Baltimore Ravens players American Conference Pro Bowl players People from Shrewsbury, New Jersey Red Bank Regional High School alumni Players of American football from Monmouth County, New Jersey All-American college football players People with bipolar disorder