Dodgers Honor Gay Former Players Glenn Burke and Billy Bean
· Yahoo Sports
The Los Angeles Dodgers unveiled a permanent memorial in Dodger Stadium for former players Glenn Burke and Billy Bean, who came out as gay following their player careers, on Pride Night Friday.
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Families of both players attended the unveiling of the memorial, which is near center field at the stadium.
“I’m just so moved, and I’m so thrilled about the bravery that the Dodgers community is showing,” Bean’s husband Greg Baker said. “It’s something that in an age when we’re seeing a lot of erasure of LGBTQ people, it’s nice to see the Dodgers step up.
“This is so beautiful. It’s something I’ll never forget.”
The memorial is set up on a wall on a rainbow background, and features framed jerseys, pictures and other memorabilia from both players’ careers.
“Oh, he would be smiling,” said Joyce Henderson, Burke’s sister. “He would be so happy. He probably would be giving the high-five. He had always been the laughter in our family and he used to crack jokes all the time and be just laughing … so he would be overwhelmed.”
Burke is credited with inventing the “high-five” in 1977, when he played with the Dodgers.
Family members of Glenn Burke and Billy Bean attend the unveiling of a Pride memorial for the two players at Dodger Stadium, along with Erik Braverman and members of the team’s Pride BRG. Photo Credit: Cyd ZeiglerGlenn Burke and Billy Bean’s History With Pride and the Dodgers
Burke was the first MLB player to publicly come out as gay, doing so after his playing career in 1982, and spent two and a half seasons with the Dodgers in the 1970s. He played the final season and a half of his career with the Oakland Athletics.
He died in 1995 due to complications with AIDS.
Bean became the second MLB player to come out as gay after his retirement from MLB in 1995. Bean spent a brief 51 games with the Dodgers during the 1989 season, also featuring for the Detroit Tigers and San Diego Padres in professional baseball between 1987 and 1995.
After his retirement from MLB, Bean joined MLB as their first Ambassador for Inclusion, and later became the senior vice president of diversity, equity and inclusion.
He died in 2024 after battling leukemia.
After the unveiling of their memorial, both players’ memories and contributions to the LGBTQ+ community will live forever on the walls of Dodger Stadium.