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Day 5: The High-Five between Glenn Burke and Dusty Baker
Glenn Burke, left, gives Dusty Baker what’s documented as the first “high-five” celebration, after Baker’s home run in 1977 (Associated Press).

The first-ever instance of “The High-Five” was invented by rookie outfielder Glenn Burke and his teammate Dusty Baker when playing against the Astros on October 2, 1977. Glenn Burke is also known for being the first openly gay player in Major League Baseball.

The Infamous High Five:
Jon Mooallem for ESPN reports: 
"It was the last day of the regular season, and Dodgers left fielder Dusty Baker had just gone deep off the Astros' J.R. Richard. It was Baker's 30th home run, making the Dodgers the first team in history to have four sluggers -- Baker, Ron Cey, Steve Garvey and Reggie Smith -- with at least 30 homers each. It was a wild, triumphant moment and a good omen as the Dodgers headed to the playoffs. Burke, waiting on deck, thrust his hand enthusiastically over his head to greet his friend at the plate. Baker, not knowing what to do, smacked it. 'His hand was up in the air, and he was arching way back,' says Baker, now 62 and managing the Reds. 'So I reached up and hit his hand. It seemed like the thing to do'."
 
Burke then stepped up and launched his first major league home run. And as he returned to the dugout, Baker high-fived him. From there, the story goes, the high five went ricocheting around the world. (According to Dodgers team historian Mark Langill, the game was not televised, and no footage survives.)
 
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Projected to be the “next Willie Mays'', Glenn Burke had been highly sought out when recruited to the Los Angeles Dodgers. In the clubhouse, Glenn was known to be spontaneous and the “soul” of the team. Despite being known and loved by his teammates, the story behind his trade to the Oakland A’s is clouded with suspicion. Rumors indicate that Burke was traded because of his sexuality and close relationship to the then Dodgers’ Manager Tommy LaSorda Sr’s son, Spunky (named Tommy LaSorda Jr.). In his autobiography “Out At Home,” Burke shared that, before the trade, he was offered $75,000 to get married [to a woman], but he rejected it. Despite being an Oakland native and hopeful of a fresh start, he faced further discrimination and harassment for his sexuality by his coaches and teammates – getting very little play (Advocate). 
 
Demoted back to the minor leagues, he decided to retire at 27. His experience as a trailblazer did not rob his love for the sport. When he came out in 1982, Inside Out writer Michael Smith described the high-five “as a defiant symbol of gay pride.” He played in the San Francisco Gay Softball League and Gay Olympics (known now as the Gay Games).

"They can't ever say now that a gay man can't play in the majors, because I'm a gay man and I made it."

 --Glenn Burke

Burke struggled with drugs. And, after a car accident in 1987, he “lost his athleticism” (ESPN). In 1993, his diagnosis of AIDS went public, and in response, the Oakland A’s organization made arrangements to contribute to his medical and living expenses financially.  By 1994, the Seattle Times described him as someone who “served time in prison, is a panhandler and a street thug, a drug user and a thief” (Seattle Times). Names we would no longer use to describe someone struggling with addiction, homelessness, and financial decline – all due to being robbed of his career.
 
The next year, Glenn Burke died of complications from AIDS at the age of 42. His obituary expressed that the person who invented the high-five no longer could raise his arm at the end of his life. Now, the high-five is still mainly associated with the Dodgers and in their advertising. Even so, Dusty Baker (now manager of the Astros) continues to credit Glenn Burke’s originality for that shared moment in 1977.

Former Major League Baseball player Glenn Burke in a Castro District restaurant in San Francisco in 1993 (Mark Hundley/AP, via Washington Post).

Posthumously Glenn Burke was inducted into the National Gay and Lesbian Sports Hall of Fame in 2013. In 2014, he was honored at the 2014 MLB All-Star Game and as an inductee for San Francisco’s Castro District: Rainbow Honor Walk. Nearly twenty years after his passing, on June 17, 2015, the Oakland Athletics held their first Pride Night. It hosted Glenn Burke’s family to witness the A’s honoring Burke with a donation in his name of nearly $25,000 to LGBTQ+ organizations: Our Space, AIDS Project East Bay, and Frameline. They also invited his brother Sidney to throw the first pitch (USA Today). Billy Bean, the MLB’s second (and only other known) openly gay player and then-Ambassador for Inclusion, was there to welcome Burke’s family. Since then, he’s shared a letter with the progress both of his former teams have made (Outsports).  
 
Burke's life echoes the experiences of many gay Black people during that time period. The curatorial team believes this further emphasizes the importance of remembering him for his full legacy.  The high five might seem simplistic, but it's important to remember that this enduring gesture of solidarity and community was popularized by someone who his own peers ostracized.

Reflection Questions:

• What other gestures and greetings do you use frequently in your life? Where do they come from? What do they represent?
  
  
• How do conversations about racism, equity and inclusion in sports affect broader culture? Consider other examples of physical gestures athletes have acted out on the field, court, etc. and how they've influenced society.
  Additional Learning
  • Book: Out at Home: The True Story of Glenn Burke, Baseball's First Openly Gay Player by Glenn Burke & Eric Sherman
    
    
  • Documentary: Out: The Glenn Burke Story (75 minutes)
    
    
  • Middle School Grade Novel: A High Five for Glenn Burke by Phil Bildner