Nathaniel Jerome “Nate” Colbert is a former Major League Baseball first baseman who played his entire career for the San Diego Padres from 1963 to 1974. Colbert put together a solid 12-year MLB career and had some impressive power hitting seasons that make his baseball cards quite collectible today, especially for Padres fans and those interested in the early years of the franchise.
Colbert was born in 1944 in San Diego, California and attended San Diego City College after high school. He was drafted by the Padres in the 20th round of the 1963 MLB Draft and made his MLB debut with the expansion Padres later that season at just 19 years old. Colbert quickly showed promise by hitting 5 home runs in his rookie season despite just playing in 38 games. His 1963 Topps rookie card is one of the key early Colbert baseball cards for collectors.
The main action on Colbert’s 1963 Topps rookie card shows him batting left-handed with a follow through swing. He is depicted wearing the classic Padres sand colored and navy blue uniform of the time featuring the original Padres “SD” logo on his cap. The photo and design of this early Topps issue card has held up well over the decades. Because it was his true rookie card issued during his debut season, examples in good condition still command solid value for Padres and rookie card collectors.
In 1964, Colbert broke out with 27 home runs in his first full MLB season at just 20 years old. His impressive power hitting as a left-handed slugger made him a franchise cornerstone for the Padres in those early years. Colbert’s 1964 Topps card shows him crouched in a batter’s box stance from a three quarter side angle view. It was around this time that he began earning the nickname “Nate the Great” from Padres fans for his big home run totals so early in his career.
Colbert followed up his 27 home run campaign in 1964 with seasons of 32 home runs in 1965 and an MLB career-high 39 home runs in 1968. His power numbers during this mid-1960s stretch made his baseball cards highly sought after. Highlights include his 1965 Topps card which features a great action shot of him swinging with follow through and 1968 Topps that captures him swinging in a memorable legs kick batting stance. Both portray him in the classic Padres uniforms and are key Colbert issues for any 1960s Padres team set.
In addition to his power numbers, Colbert was also an above average fielder at first base and had decent career batting averages around .250. He made the National League All-Star team in 1968, the year he hit his 39 home runs. Colbert’s performance truly helped keep the Padres competitive during their early years in San Diego as one of the franchise’s first true star players.
Injuries began slowing Colbert down a bit in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He suffered a leg injury after being hit by a pitch in 1970 that cost him much of that season. Colbert still managed to hit 23 home runs in 1971 but his production declined over the next few seasons. Still, he remained a durable player who suited up for the Padres in over 100 games each year from 1963 to 1972.
One of the more interesting Colbert baseball cards comes from 1972 Topps. On this issue, he is shown swinging left-handed but the photo is flipped so he appears to be a righty batter. While an unusual mistake, it makes this one of the more unique variations in the Colbert collecting universe. His final season was 1974 at age 30 where he hit 13 home runs in 106 games and still provided veteran leadership in the Padres lineup before retiring.
In total, Colbert smashed 238 career home runs over his 12 MLB seasons, all with the San Diego Padres. He appeared on over a dozen different annual baseball cards from 1963 through 1974 Topps issues memorabilizing his playing career for collectors today. Some later highlights after his playing days include minor roles in the movies “The Bad News Bears Go to Japan” in 1978 and “The Benchwarmers” in 2006 that featured some baseball cameos.
Perhaps most notable is how Colbert’s career home run totals still rank him third on the all-time Padres home run list behind only Adrian Gonzalez and Ken Caminiti as of the 2022 season. As one of the early faces and stars of the Padres franchise, Colbert holds a special place in the team’s history that is remembered through his baseball cards. Examples from his rookie season in 1963 through his career best seasons in the mid-1960s tend to be the most highly valued and collected Colbert issues today.
For serious Padres collectors, finding high quality specimens of Nate Colbert’s main 1960s action and portrait cards in graded gem mint condition can take patience. But adding these classics to a set helps tell the story of one of the stars who helped establish San Diego’s MLB team in its formative years. Even for casual collectors, Colbert cards make for affordable pickups that commemorate an underrated power hitter who was “Nate the Great” for the Padres during the analog baseball card era.
