Colbert played six seasons with San Diego from 1969 to 1974, earning all three of his All-Star selections and becoming the first star player for the young franchise.

After a back injury prematurely ended his playing career after just 10 seasons,[2] he became a coach and manager in the minor leagues.

[2] His father, Nate Sr., played semi-professional baseball as a catcher and occasional pitcher in the Negro leagues;[2] he caught for Satchel Paige.

[3] When he was eight, Colbert attended a doubleheader at Busch Stadium (formerly Sportsman's Park) on May 2, 1954, in which Stan Musial of the St. Louis Cardinals set MLB single-day records with five home runs, starting with three homers in Game 1, and 21 total bases.

[2] Colbert hit 38 homers in 1972, matching his total from 1970,[4] and batted .250 with a .508 slugging percentage and 111 RBIs, helping him finish eighth in voting for the NL Most Valuable Player Award.

[2] After three All-Star seasons at first base from 1971 to 1973, San Diego moved Colbert to left field after acquiring Willie McCovey in 1974.

After batting .147 with four home runs and 18 RBIs in 45 games, the Tigers sold Colbert's contract to the Montreal Expos on June 15, 1975.

He attended spring training with the expansion Toronto Blue Jays in 1977, but back problems forced his retirement at 30.

[2][6] Colbert was the first star for the Padres and remained the franchise's career home run leader (163) until 2024,[2][3] when it was broken by Manny Machado.

[19] Colbert also ranks among the top-10 in club history in RBIs (481), slugging percentage (.469), games played (866), runs scored (442) and base on balls (350).

[2][6] In 1991, Colbert pled guilty to committing fraud on bank loan documents,[25] and he served a six-month sentence at a medium-security penitentiary in Lompoc, California.