Author · Journalist · Storyteller
Larry Colton
Author · Journalist · Former Philadelphia Phillies Pitcher
Larry Colton is the author of five acclaimed books exploring the intersection of sports, history, and the American experience. From the Jim Crow South to the battlefields of World War II, from Native American reservations to the jock fraternities of 1960s Berkeley — his stories illuminate the full complexity of American life.
Selected Works
Books
2013
1964 was a pivotal year in the Civil Rights movement, and in Birmingham, Alabama — perhaps the epicenter of American racial conflict — a remarkable grand experiment was about to take place: Alabama's first-ever integrated team, the Barons of baseball's Southern League.
Read MoreOn April 23, 1943, the seventy-man crew of the USS Grenadier scrambled to save their submarine and themselves after a Japanese aerial torpedo sent it crashing to the ocean floor.
Read MoreIn Native American tradition, a warrior gained honor and glory by 'counting coup' — touching his enemy in battle and living to tell the tale. This is a modern story of basketball, identity, and redemption on a Montana reservation.
Read MoreThey were the golden boys at PiKA, the jock frat house at Berkeley. They spent their days on the playing fields, their nights with icy kegs and willing women.
Read MoreThose who say that sports do not, or should not, make us think about anything beyond the field itself have always been wrong.
Nonprofits & Initiatives
Beyond the Books
A teacher support program dedicated to improving student writing achievement by improving the quality of writing instruction in Oregon schools.
The acclaimed Portland Book Festival. Over a thousand authors have spoken, including Norman Mailer, Gore Vidal, Dave Eggers, John Irving and Joyce Carol Oates. Over 150,000 people drawn.