Charles K. "Charlie" Monfort (born October 30, 1959) and Richard L. "Dick" Monfort (born April 27, 1954) are the primary owners of the Colorado Rockies Major League Baseball team.[1] Both grew up in Greeley, Colorado and are sons to Kenneth Monfort; previous owner of Monfort of Colorado, Inc. a meatpacking and distributing company that was acquired by ConAgra Foods in 1987.[2]
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Dick Monfort was the first of the two Monfort brothers. Dick graduated from the University of Northern Colorado, Greeley in 1976 with a bachelor’s degree in Business Management. He joined Montfort of Colorado in 1974 as a cattle buyer. He then served as vice president federal cattle procurement from 1979–81, group vice president of cattle products 1983-1984 and executive vice president 1984-1987. When ConAgra bought Montfort of Colorado in 1987, Dick became president of ConAgra Red Meats.[3] Dick also owns shares in the Hyatt Grand Champion Hotel of Palm Springs, the Hilltop Steak House in Boston, and other real estate ventures in Colorado. At the University of Northern Colorado, Dick serves on the board of trustees along with the board of directors at University of Colorado Hospital, Denver Zoo, and the Colorado Economic Development Board. Dick now resides in Greeley, Colorado with his wife Christine with their three children.[4]
Charlie Monfort graduated from the University of Utah (Salt Lake City) in 1982 with a bachelor’s degree in Marketing and Business Management where he served as president of the Kappa Sigma fraternity. Charlie started working for the family business Monfort of Colorado, Inc. also in 1988 as president of International Sales until 1996.[5] In 1996, Charlie became president of ConAgra Foods International; later leaving in 1998 to concentrate on his previous commitment to the Rockies. [6] Charlie also serves on the Board of Trustees at Colorado Mesa University, (formerly Mesa State College); Grand Junction, Colorado. All along with a being board member of the Kempe Foundation, the Special Olympics, and the Monfort Family Foundation. Charlie now resides with his wife Vanessa Monfort and their four kids Kenny, Ciara, Lucas, and Danica in Greeley, Colorado.[7]
On September 2, 1992, Jerry McMorris and the Monforts bought controlling interest in the Rockies.[8] This came after founding owner Mickey Monus was ensnared in a massive accounting scandal surrounding his Phar-Mor discount drugstores. Dick Monfort became vice chairman of the Rockies on December 8, 1997.[9] On March 31, 2003, Charlie was named CEO of the Colorado Rockies, succeeding president Keli McGregor who had taken the role from McMorris in 2001.[10] In 2005, Dick and Charlie Monfort purchased Jerry McMorris’ financial interest in the team, becoming the primary owners. Charlie remained as chairman and CEO until 2011, when he handed both roles to Dick.
The Colorado Rockies led Major League Baseball the first seven seasons of the franchise in attendance under CEO Jerry McMorris. Since 1999 the attendance at Coors field dropped as low as 26th out of 30 teams to 21st in 2007. This has caused uproar from fans and media alike for change from the Monfort brothers with declining attendance and losing seasons. The Colorado Rockies also have a low payroll for its players, ranking 28th out of 30 teams in 2006 at $41,233,000.[11] Many fans and media argue that the Monfort brothers were unwilling to put enough capital to recruit good players for a playoff season. The Monfort brothers are a great proponent of the farm system to develop and grow players in the minor and major leagues.
This argument continues today, even after the Colorado Rockies historic run in the 2007 season, winning 21 out of 22 games; getting the franchise's first berth in the World Series,[12] where they were swept by the Boston Red Sox in four games. In 2009, the Rockies management started to change with the firing of Clint Hurdle after an 11–17 start to the season.[13] Under new skipper Jim Tracy the Colorado Rockies returned to the playoffs for the third time in franchise history, where they would lose in 4 games to the eventual National League champion Philadelphia Phillies.
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