Larry Patterson attended Cleveland High School where he was a standout performer on the football field. He played for coach Hugh OShields, another 200-game winner, at Cleveland. Patterson was named to the All-State team in 1961 as a back.

After graduating high school he received his degree from Jacksonville State. He played football for a year with the Gamecocks before switching to baseball.

At the age of only 20 years old, he took the head coaching position at Susan Moore in 1967. Patterson worked for six or seven years under an emergency certificate and worked in the summers on his degree before graduating from college in 1970.

Patterson would remain at Susan Moore for the next 22 seasons and compiled a record of 164-78-3. He led the Bulldogs to their first state playoff appearance in 1969 and reached the championship game the following year before losing to Addison 15-7.

His region and area record at Susan Moore was 45-16 with seven titles. Twelve of his teams qualified for the state football playoffs.

Patterson also coached six years at Arab High School with a 41-22 record and the schools first-ever state playoff appearances. His first team finished 7-3 and snapped a string of 11 straight losing seasons at Arab.

He served as president of the AHSAA coaches association and coached in the All-Star game. Patterson is a member of the Alabama High School Sports Hall of Fame and the Marshall County and Blount County Sports Halls of Fame.