Colin Porter

Inducted in 2025

In the first weekend of his major-league baseball career, late May 2003, Colin Porter played in centerfield at famed Wrigley Field. A day earlier he had been playing in Alberta, Canada, for the New Orleans Zephrys of the Pacific Coast League.
While in Chicago that weekend he batted against All-Star pitcher Kerry Wood and later singled for his first big-league hit.
But Porter was anything but a one-hit wonder in his sports career.
At Canyon del Oro High School in 1993, he was a first-team All-City linebacker and a second-team All-City running back. In one game, against Salpointe, he ran 48 yards for a touchdown, 64 yards for another and caught two touchdown passes.
That spring, he led CDO to the state baseball championship, hitting .382 to attract the attention of pro scouts and UA coach Jerry Kindall. Porter, a 6-foot 2-inch lefty hitter, chose to attend college. Good choice.
In 1998, Porter led the Pac-10 with 35 stolen bases. An All-Pac-10 first team selection, Porter, an outfielder, hit .326 with 14 home runs. In one memorable weekend series against rival ASU, Porter hit two game-winning home runs, had a double and triple and went 8-for-15.
A few weeks later Porter was drafted by the Houston Astros, where he quickly rose through the minor-leagues. In 2002, Porter was a Double-A All-Star at Round Rock, Texas, hitting 14 home runs. A year later, playing in Triple-A Pacific Coast League, Porter hit .320 for New Orleans with 11 homers. He was recalled by the Houston Astros and found himself in a lineup with future Hall of Famers Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell.
That winter he was acquired by the St. Louis Cardinals, where he often found himself in the lineup with future Hall of Famer Albert Pujols. In total Porter played in 878 minor-league games, including a stint in 2005 for the Tucson Sidewinders, coached by Chip Hale. Porter hit 75 home runs in the minor leagues.
In 1994, the Arizona Daily Star’s All-City baseball team was one for the books. It included Sabino’s Jeff Saffer and Ryan Moskau, Sunnyside’s Omar Moraga and Diego Rico and Salpointe’s Danny Preble as well as CDO’s Nick Frank. All were later drafted and played in the minor leagues, but only Porter reached the big leagues.