Bob Porter was a standout baseball player at Napa High in 1976 and 1977, leading the Indians to the league championship with a .447 batting average. As an outfielder, Porter won the following honors as a junior: All-Honors Team, All-County Team and Napa-Solano All-Star Team. As a senior, he was selected All-MEL, All-County, Napa-Solano All-Star Team, All Sac-Joaquin Tournament of Champions Team and led the MEL in hitting. He set the Sac-Joaquin Tournament of Champions record for home runs and proved his versatility by turning to pitching and setting a Sac-Joaquin TOC record by striking out six Woodland Wolves in a row. Porter was drafted in the third round of the 1977 major league draft by the Atlanta Braves. He had a distinguished minor league record, gaining All-Star honors in the Rookie League in 1977, in Class A in 1978, and Class AA in 1979 and 1980. In 1981, while playing Class AAA and hitting .378, Porter was called up to the Atlanta Braves and made his major league debut May 13, 1981. While he returned to Class AAA in 1982, Porter was again called up to the major leagues in July by the division champion Braves. One of Porter’s teammates and fellow All-Star in the 1978 Class A league was Napa High School Athletic Hall of Famer Bruce Tonascia. Porter had a memorable high school and professional baseball record and became the fifth member of the Napa High School Hall of Fame to have major league baseball experience in his record of accomplishments.
