From small-town Holland to Sox power: Montgomery’s rise

Colson Montgomery’s surge with the Chicago White Sox has reached a new peak—20 home runs in 256 at-bats—turning heads not just in Yankee Stadium, but also back in the Indiana towns where he grew up, learned the game, and carried a family legacy he still feels

When the White Sox shortstop cleared the fences at Yankee Stadium for his 20th home run, it landed like a familiar punchline for Dylan Barnas—who posted on X on Thursday afternoon that if friends weren’t talking about Colson Montgomery, they “need new friends.”

Barnas is a student at the University of Missouri. majoring in sports management. and he spends his free time blogging and doing podcasts about the White Sox. But the excitement around Montgomery doesn’t read like hype to the people who watched him grow up. For them, it’s the kind of success that feels, in some quiet way, inevitable.

Montgomery has now become the best power-hitting shortstop on either side of Chicago. He’s also ranked as the best in the American League Central. and—by the raw numbers—he’s the best in the majors. with five home runs more than anyone else. His run is even sharper when you look at timing: he hit his fourth home run in four nights at Yankee Stadium.

His pace is drawing big-season comparisons. Only four shortstops have ever hit 40 home runs in a season. Alex Rodriguez did it six times, an achievement diminished by his use of performance-enhancing drugs. Cubs Hall of Famer Ernie Banks did it four times. Boston shortstop Rico Petrocelli hit 40 in 1969.

Montgomery’s own milestone is already within striking distance. He’s hit 20 home runs in 256 at-bats. Projected over 600 at-bats, that pace would put him at 47. That would make him the first left-handed hitting shortstop ever to reach 40.

For those in Indiana, the question isn’t whether Montgomery can make history—it’s how a kid from a town with no stoplight became a force in the middle of the American League.

A conversation started in firehouse shorthand

When the buzz got loud enough, one of the first calls went to the fire station in Huntingburg, Indiana—where Montgomery went to high school.

Huntingburg. a town of just over 6. 300 residents in southwest Indiana. has been called the “Hollywood of the Midwest.” The nickname may sound like a gag. but it’s rooted in reality: the town has served as a locale for several movies. Its biggest claim to fame is League Stadium. where the grandstand was renovated so it could serve as the set of the movie “League of Their Own.”.

At the fire department, Don Heim oversees Huntingburg’s all-volunteer team. There haven’t been many fires lately, but their EMT crews stay busy.

“I mean, he’s on the Chicago White Sox, hitting dingers all day long. That’s all,” Heim said when asked if he knew what Montgomery was up to.

Heim didn’t sound surprised. He sounded proud.

“Our community and our school is very, very proud. Everybody’s excited for him. Even our non-sports people, they’re following Colson,” Heim said. “His great uncle, Bill Bland, is on my fire department. My daughter Meredith went to school with Colson.”

The pride has a family texture to it—something that’s hard to manufacture and easy to recognize when it’s real.

Holland’s quiet spotlight

If Huntingburg is where Montgomery became a high school player, Holland is where he became Colson.

Southridge High sits close by, and Holland sends its kids there. According to the last census, Holland has 644 residents.

Greg Gogel. the principal of Southridge High. described the place with a straight-faced kind of accuracy: “Oh. it’s small town. buddy. for sure.” He pointed out that Holland. Indiana has “not a stoplight.” It does have a dairy near the center of town. a Legion Hall. a post office. and “a few other nice little parks and lakes. ” but no stoplight.

Gogel watched Montgomery grow up. He lives in Holland and has a front-row seat to the kind of fame that never seems to fully leave.

“There’s a day care in town,” Gogel said. “And they’ve got a giant banner up. ‘We’re proud of you, Colson,’ it says.”

He also said Colson comes back all the time—“just one of the people.”

At Southridge, Gogel’s own career includes a sports connection that makes sense in hindsight. He was named principal of the year in his district. Before that, he was backup quarterback to Jay Cutler at nearby Heritage High School.

Montgomery’s father, T.J. Montgomery, played basketball, and Colson excelled in sports as well. Gogel said Colson was quarterback in football, but quit the team his senior year to focus on basketball and baseball. Gogel also said the baseball team won three state championships, and that the pandemic wiped out a season.

Remembering PawPaw, written in ink

In Holland, there’s an absence people still talk around.

Chad Bland, Montgomery’s uncle, described skipping the bobblehead event in his own way—like it was something the town had almost turned toward, then pulled back.

“We didn’t get up to Colson’s bobblehead game, but I know there were a ton of people went to it,” Chad Bland said. “It was almost like somebody turned the lights out in town, and everybody went to Chicago.”

Chad Bland’s son Dylan is getting married Saturday. Colson will be in Detroit playing for the White Sox during the wedding, but Montgomery’s younger brother, Hudson, who is still in high school, will be there. Colson also has an older brother, Jayden, and two sisters, Myah and Ava.

And then there’s the person whose memory Montgomery keeps close in a way that’s visible every time he looks down.

Darrell Powell—known to Colson as PawPaw—was a cattle farmer in Holland. Chad Bland said his house was a short walk from Colson’s home.

“He was Colson’s No. 1 supporter,” Chad Bland said. “He went to all of his games. He was like that with all the grandkids, but he didn’t miss anything.”

Chad Bland described Powell as “a simple guy” who “didn’t come from a lot,” but who loved his grandkids “so dearly.”

On Colson’s wrist is a tattoo that reads “Viii XXiii,” which Chad Bland connected to the date Aug. 23, 2017—the day PawPaw died.

“We know he’s looking down,” Chad Bland said. “But if he could have been here to see Colson making the big leagues, what an awesome deal that would have been.”

Pizza night for a draft pick

Before Montgomery’s name became a constant on baseball calendars, it was a draft pick that felt like a town celebration.

The night Montgomery was picked 21st overall by the White Sox in 2021, Gaslight Pizza and Grill in Huntingburg—occupying a classic old movie house—was packed. The owner, John Songer, set up a giant screen so people could watch the draft.

“Colson and his friends have been in here many times, his family, too,” Songer said. “I’ve been a firm supporter of Southridge athletics for many years.”

Sitting in that restaurant’s long relationship with the community, Songer talked about making “Chicago tavern style pizza,” saying the recipe was taught to him 54 years ago and that the place has “been around for a hot second.”

The menu lists 36 different varieties of pizza. Songer said the No. 1 seller is the Gas, fully loaded. He also described the “Johnny Dart,” a corned beef-based pizza with different sauces. There’s even a sandwich version.

Why “Johnny Dart”? Songer said, “That would be the guy you’re talking to,” and explained that he used to be a dart thrower “on occasion.”

A “little fella” who refused to stay small

Back at Southridge, there’s another kind of memory—one tied to coaching and a promise made in the hallway.

On Thursday, Gene Mattingly retired as baseball coach at Southridge. He guided the school to three state championships when Colson was his star player.

Mattingly’s son, Peyton, was friends with Jayden Montgomery. Colson—several years younger—was always tagging along. Mattingly called him the “little fella.”

“It’s fun to talk about the ‘little fella,’” Mattingly said.

Mattingly recalled telling teammates, “Guys, make sure you take care of the little fella. Let him play.”

Then he laughed at how that nickname doesn’t match what Montgomery is now.

“Kind of ironic,” Mattingly said. “He’s like 6-4, 230. I’ve had a front-row seat from birth to, you know, he’s what, 24 now? I’ve been around his life since he was born.”

Mattingly said Montgomery has pushed past limits repeatedly. “From a competitive standpoint, there’s not a bar that he hasn’t reached and then push it higher,” he said.

And he described the mentality that, to Mattingly, seems to explain everything: “I want people to say to him he can’t do something, because once you tell him he can’t do it, it’s done.”

Colson Montgomery Chicago White Sox Yankees Stadium shortstop power Huntingburg Indiana Holland Indiana Southridge High Gene Mattingly Bill Bland baseball draft Viii XXiii