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Nathan Colbert
San Diego Padres
First Base
Born: April 9, 1946, St. Louis, MO
Signed: Signed by the St. Louis Cardinals as an amateur free agent before 1964 season
Major League Teams: Houston Astros 1966, 1968; San Diego Padres 1969-74; Detroit Tigers 1975; Montreal Expos 1975-76; Oakland Athletics 1976
Died: January 5, 2023, Las Vegas, NV (age 76)
The first star of the Padres franchise, Nate Colbert was a three-time All-Star with the club and played 10 seasons overall in the majors. Colbert played briefly with the Astros before the Padres made him the 18th pick in the 1968 expansion draft. His best season in San Diego came in 1972 when he batted .250 while reaching career bests in both home runs (38, tied with his total from 1970) and RBIs (111). On August 1, 1972, Colbert connected for five home runs in a double header against the Braves, matching Stan Musial's record from 1954, and he drove in 13 runs, breaking the previous record of 11. Colbert finished eighth in the MVP voting that season.
The first star of the Padres franchise, Nate Colbert was a three-time All-Star with the club and played 10 seasons overall in the majors. Colbert played briefly with the Astros before the Padres made him the 18th pick in the 1968 expansion draft. His best season in San Diego came in 1972 when he batted .250 while reaching career bests in both home runs (38, tied with his total from 1970) and RBIs (111). On August 1, 1972, Colbert connected for five home runs in a double header against the Braves, matching Stan Musial's record from 1954, and he drove in 13 runs, breaking the previous record of 11. Colbert finished eighth in the MVP voting that season.
He was moved to left field for the 1974 season, after the Padres had acquired Willie McCovey (#440), but a bad back slowed his production. Hampered with back injuries, Colbert would play just two more seasons in the majors with the Tigers, Expos and Athletics before retiring as a player. In 1,004 games, he batted .243 with 173 home runs and 520 RBIs. His 163 home runs with the Padres were a club record until broken by Manny Machado in 2024. Colbert still holds positions in the Padres' Top 10 for most of the major offensive categories, and he was inducted as part of the inaugural class into the San Diego Padres Hall of Fame in 1999. He'd go on to be a minor league instructor and coach until the early 1990s.
December 3, 2023 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)
Doug and I returned to The Philly Show in early December, once again held inside the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania. eBay has taken over sponsorship of the show, with the quaint, bubble-lettered Philly Show logo that had been in place since the 1980s replaced with a more modern logo, keeping with the times. I wrote about the show in a post over at The Phillies Room.
Similar to my strategy from March, I wanted to focus on accumulating commons and having found success with Uncle Dick's Cards before, I didn't mess around and headed right for the neon green binders. I pulled 145 cards from the binder containing cards 301 to the end of the set, stopping when I reached 500. This card was the 79th of 145 cards purchased for our set, and after the dealer discount due to my bulk purchase, it cost me less than a dollar.
The Card / Padres Team Set / Accuracy Index -8
Colbert is likely wearing an Astros jersey here, with this photo taken at the same session as the photo used for his rookie card in the 1966 Topps set. The back of the card highlights his success in the minor leagues.
Accuracy Index: Colbert's card receives the fairly standard -8 for the former team jersey (-5) and lack of a hat (-3).
1969 Season
Bill Davis (#304) was the opening day first baseman for the Padres, with Colbert serving as his back-up. However, Davis was dealt to the Cardinals in late May and Colbert received the bulk of the starts at first throughout the rest of the season. In 139 games, he batted .255 while leading the new club in both home runs (24) and RBIs (66), and his home run total was the top among all rookies in 1969.
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First Mainstream Card: 1966 Topps #596
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (10): 1966, 1969-77
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2012 Panini Golden Age #141
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 85 in the Beckett online database as of 9/14/24.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
Head shot, no hat, off-center photo, but a great card.
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