Montgomery Wings

All-American Association (2001)
Southeastern League (2002-2003)

Tombstone

Born: April 2001 – All-American Association founding franchise
Folded: 2003

First Game: June 1, 2001 (L 4-1 @ Albany Alligators)
Last Game: August 17, 2003 (L 9-0 @ Baton Rouge River Rats)

All-American Association Championships: None
Southeastern League Championships: None

Stadium

Paterson Field

Ownership & Affiliation

Owners:

2001: Charles Cuttone
2002-2003: Perry Hooper, Noopie Cosby, et al.

Major League Affiliation: Independent

Background

Thanks to long-time pro soccer exec Peter Wilt for sending over this rare minor league baseball program from the obscure Montgomery Wings (above). Wilt and a partner briefly looked at purchasing the Wings in the early 2000’s.

The Wings were a low-level indy ball operation. In three summers of play, the team never fielded a player who ever had (or ever would) played an inning of Major League Baseball. Field manager Lou Thornton was a Montgomery native who played sporadically in the Majors with the Toronto Blue Jays and New York Mets between 1985 and 1990.

The team’s arrival in 2001, as part of the start-up All-American Association, marked the return of pro baseball to Montgomery for the first time since the Montgomery Rebels left town in 1980. The league featured six clubs in Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Tennessee and Texas.

On the field, the Wings finished in 5th place in the six-team loop with a 34-38 record. Off the field, Montgomery was a relative success story. The Wings led the All-American Association in attendance. The team’s final regular season game in 2001 drew more than 8,000 fans to Paterson Field. By contrast, the league’s Winchester, Tennessee club drew just over 10,000 fans for the entire season.

Final Seasons

The All-American Association collapsed following its 2001 debut season. The Wings, along with the league champion Baton Rouge Blue Marlins, forged ahead with new local owners and a new league, the Southeastern League. The Southeastern League proved equally flimsy and attendance declined from that great first season. Meanwhile, the enthusiasm shown by local fans to the 2001 Wings helped motivate city officials to break ground on a $26 million new ballpark, Montgomery Riverwalk Stadium.

The Orlando Rays of the Class AA Southern League announced they would move to Montgomery and take up residence at Riverwalk Stadium in 2004, thus displacing the Wings.

The Southern League’s Montgomery Biscuits were set to begin their 17th season of play in the spring of 2020.