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.\n', ' Burke 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." He died from AIDS-related causes in 1995.\n', ' 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.[citation needed] He was voted onto the all-tournament team at the Tournament of Champions (TOC) and received a Northern California MVP award.[citation needed] Burke was named Northern California\'s High School Basketball Player of the Year in 1970.\n', '