Did you know that there’s a gay history behind high-fives?
On Oct. 2, 1977, rookie Dodgers outfielder Glenn Burke raised his hand to congratulate Dusty Baker on his 30th home run during a game against the Houston Astros. In response, his slightly confused teammate smacked Burke’s hand—and the high-five was born.
Burke was also the first player in Major League Baseball to publicly come out as gay. While he didn’t come out until 1982, after his retirement, Burke was out to his teammates while he played in the league.
Burke came out via Michael J. Smith’s article “The Double Life of a Gay Dodger” in a 1982 issue of Inside Sports. In the piece, Dodgers teammate Davey Lopes said that nobody on the team cared about his “lifestyle” and that Burke was “the life of the team.”
But he wasn’t accepted by everyone. Burke told the New York Times that prejudice ultimately drove him out of baseball. Burke also alleged that the Dodgers’ general manager offered to pay for a big honeymoon if he married a woman. He was later traded to the Oakland A’s, where he also experienced homophobia.
Burke passed away in 1995 due to AIDs complications. And while his story is not as well known as it should be, there have been efforts in the last few years to right that wrong. We looked into not just his role in creating the high-five, but also his status as a queer pioneer in sports.
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