Glenn Burke

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.

Burke was the first and only MLB player to come out as gay to teammates and team owners during his professional career and the first to publicly acknowledge it. He died from AIDS-related causes in 1995.

"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

Early athletic career

Burke was an accomplished high school basketball star, leading the Berkeley High School, California, Yellow Jackets to an undefeated season and the 1970 Northern California championships. He was voted into the Tournament of Champions (TOC) and received a Northern California MVP award. Burke was named Northern California's High School Basketball Player of the Year in 1970.

Major League career

Toward the beginning of his career, an assistant coach described him as the next Willie Mays. Burke was a highly touted star in the Los Angeles Dodgers minor league system before being called up to the major league club.