The Monfort Family Ownership Era (1993–2014)

Lore & Background

The Monfort era began with a gamble. Steve Monfort, a Kansas-based businessman, secured Denver's expansion franchise in 1993 and handed the keys to his son Pat, who would become the public face of the organization. The early years were rough—two seasons at the aging Mile High Stadium, a .500 debut, and a roster still finding its identity. But the altitude was already doing its work: pitchers struggled, hitters soared, and a new kind of baseball spectacle was born above the plains. The arrival of Coors Field in 1995 changed everything. The open-air diamond, with its sweeping Colorado sky and the rumble of the Rockies' fan base, became a cathedral for the sport. That same year the Rockies made the playoffs for the first time, and in 1996 they stunned baseball by clawing back from a 3-1 deficit against the Atlanta Braves in the NLCS before falling to the Yankees in the World Series. The image of Larry Walker, Denny Neely, and the 1996 core became the franchise's defining myth. Pat Monfort's ownership was marked by a hands-on, sometimes contentious style. He was known for his bluntness, his love of the game, and a fierce loyalty to Denver. The Monforts weathered rebuilding years, the 1997 MVP season, and the long stretch of .500 baseball that became the Rockies' identity. When the sale to Dick Monck closed in 2014, the family's imprint remained in the culture, the fanbase, and the very soul of the club.

In Their Own Story

October 1996. Coors Field. The seventh inning of Game 7 against Atlanta, and the Rockies trail the series 3-1. The air above the diamond is thin, sharp, tasting of cold mountain wind. Pat Monfort stands in the owner's box, jaw set, watching Denny Neely step to the plate. The crowd—thirty thousand voices in a bowl of concrete and sky—roars like a river breaking through a canyon. Neely swings. The ball caroms off the wall in left field. The stadium detonates. For one electric night, every doubt about whether a team from the high plains could survive in the big leagues evaporated into the Colorado dark. The Monforts had built something. Something that belonged to Denver.

Reader's Guide

The Monfort era opens in 1993 with a bold experiment: a new MLB franchise at 5,280 feet. Steve Monfort secures the Denver expansion slot, and Pat Monfort takes the helm. The Rockies debut at Mile High Stadium, finish .500, and learn quickly that altitude is both gift and curse. The turning point arrives in 1995. Coors Field opens—a gleaming, open-air fortress that becomes the team's identity. The Rockies make the playoffs that fall, and the city falls in love. The 1996 season is the era's high-water mark: a 3-1 comeback against Atlanta in the NLCS, a World Series berth, and a loss to the Yankees that only deepens the franchise's mythos. The late 1990s and 2000s are defined by Larry Walker's 1997 MVP campaign, a loyal but often frustrated fanbase, and the Rockies' reputation as a .500 team that could never quite find a second October. Pat Monfort's ownership style—direct, passionate, sometimes polarizing—becomes inseparable from the club's character. By 2014, the Monforts decide to sell. Dick Monck purchases the franchise, and a chapter closes. What remains is a fan culture forged in thin air, a ballpark that still hums with 1996 memories, and a family name synonymous with the Rockies' very existence.

Did You Know?

• The Rockies' 1996 NLCS comeback from a 3-1 deficit against the Braves remains one of the most dramatic series reversals in National League history.
• Coors Field, opened in 1995, is one of the most hitter-friendly parks in baseball, a factor that became central to the Rockies' identity during the Monfort years.
• Larry Walker's 1997 season—54 home runs, 130 RBIs, and the NL MVP award—remains the franchise's single greatest individual performance.