Glenn Burke, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death

Glenn Burke

American baseball player

Date of Birth: 16-Nov-1952

Place of Birth: Oakland, California, United States

Date of Death: 30-May-1995

Profession: baseball player

Nationality: United States

Zodiac Sign: Scorpio

Glenn Lawrence Burke (November 16, 1952 – May 30, 1995) was a Major League Baseball (MLB) player for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Oakland Athletics from 1976 to 1979.
He was the first MLB player to come out as gay to teammates and team owners during his professional career and the first to publicly acknowledge it, stating, "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." In October 1977, Burke ran onto the field to congratulate his Dodgers teammate Dusty Baker after Baker hit his 30th home run; Burke raised his hand over his head and Baker slapped it.
They are widely credited with inventing the high five. Burke kept active in sports after retiring from baseball.
He competed in the 1982 Gay Olympics, now re-named Gay Games, in track, and in 1986 in basketball.
He played for many years in the San Francisco Gay Softball League.
He died from AIDS-related causes in 1995.
In August 2013, Burke was among the first class of inductees into the National Gay and Lesbian Sports Hall of Fame.
Burke was inducted into the Baseball Reliquary's Shrine of the Eternals in 2015.