A new documentary will soon air that chronicles the life of Glenn Burke, the Black former superstar centerfielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers who was the first and only Major League Baseball player known to have been out to his teammates and team owners during his professional career. Burke died from AIDS-related causes in 1995. He was only 43 years old.
Out. The Glenn Burke Story will premiere at a public screening at the Castro Theater on Wednesday, November 10. The film will be replayed exclusively on Comcast SportsNet Bay Area. The documentary will tell the story of Burke's rapid "descent from the World Series to being traded to the Athletics to a voluntary retirement and down into the abyss of drug abuse, homelessness, and AIDS that eventually took his life," notes Bleacher Report.
Featuring interviews with Dodger teammates Dusty Baker, Davey Lopes and Rick Monday, among others, as well as A's teammates Claudell Washington, Mike Norris, and Shooty Babitt, Out gets into the nitty-gritty of Burke's athletic and post-athletic career. According to almost everyone interviewed, Burke was run out of baseball because he was gay. The Dodgers apparently offered to pay for his wedding and honeymoon if he got married, and when he refused, he was promptly traded to the Athletics. The situation was no better there with manager Billy Martin, and Burke took a leave of absence from the team to clear his head.
When he decided to come back, it was starkly clear to him that, while he still loved baseball and obviously had the physical tools to play the game, there was no place for a gay man in professional baseball. Burke then took the celebrity that he did have and played it up, spending a majority of his time in San Francisco's famed Castro District. Yet his fame ran out, and his party lifestyle turned into one of drug abuse. The tragedy was compounded when Burke contracted AIDS in 1994. But in the last years of his life, the same game of baseball that abandoned him came back to support him in his greatest time of need.
Glenn Burke is still regarded as the first and only player in the big four (NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA) to come out as gay to his teammates while he was still playing.
The A's Billy Martin called Burke faggot in front of his teammates. "By 1978 I think everybody knew," Glenn Burke later said, adding that he was "sure his teammates didn't care." Management at the Dodgers and A's detested Burke's sexuality, but, according to most reports and the interviews in Out. The Glenn Burke Story, the teammates did not care. Fascinating ... especially because we're talking professional sports in the late 1970s
Former Dodgers teammate Reggie Smith learned about Burke's sexuality (and off-the-field antics) through another player. Here's a clip when he discusses it and stresses that he did not want the information to become public or it would "destroy his career", WATCH AFTER THE JUMP ...
Out: The Glenn Burke Story from Rod McCullom on Vimeo.
BLACK MEN ARE SO STRONG THAT IT FLOORS MY SPIRIT!
This man is a mighty Oak tree and I pray that this story gets out to OUR COMMUNITIES!!!! He was really not ashamed to be himself in his own skin at a time when it wasn't popular or profitable!
BRAVO!
Posted by: TheRevKev | 30 October 2010 at 14:57
Wow! I can't wait to see this.
Posted by: soulbrotha | 30 October 2010 at 15:13
I read his autobiography a while back and was really saddened by the treatment he received, particularly by Tommy Lasorda who was upset cuz Glen was seeing his son. I hope this gets a wider release eventually, so myself and others can see it.
His autobiography
http://www.amazon.com/Out-Home-Glenn-Burke-Story/dp/096481580X/ref=cm_cr_pr_pb_t/191-8780098-0134228
Posted by: Dre | 30 October 2010 at 15:41
Rod, thank you so much. I never knew about Glenn Burke. Cannot wait to see this!
Posted by: King Drive | 30 October 2010 at 15:42
I remember seeing Glenn a few times in the club—he was always playing pool when I saw him. I can tell you he had a notable presence, and he had a group of admirers to match. (This was long before his drug use, or at least before it affected his life in an obvious way.)
A friend of mine, who was fairly close to Glenn and who visited with him shortly before his death, never had any doubt that homophobia is what killed him in the end, although his serious injuries from a car accident in the late ’80s certainly played a part, too.
For those who may not know, his autobiography, Out at Home: The Glenn Burke Story, came out in the mid ’90s.
Posted by: Jim | 30 October 2010 at 16:00
Thanks for posting this, Rod.
Posted by: Andy Niable | 30 October 2010 at 16:15
Rod,
Thank you so much for posting this.
Posted by: Honut Sinti | 30 October 2010 at 21:00
So wish I could see this!!!
Posted by: DBarr | 31 October 2010 at 08:41
FASCINATING! We, BGM, have so many stories to learn about our history, struggle and ultimate glory.
WE ARE SO STRONG AND BRAVE.
Looking forward to learning more Glenn.
Posted by: kirk | 31 October 2010 at 08:50
FUNNY, i was looking out gay sports players (looking for inspiration) and I came across his name. even though i never played baseball, I'm looking forward to seeing this film.
Posted by: GQ | 31 October 2010 at 18:47
Wow, talk about great material for a movie...a big screen movie. But who'd be brave enough to play him? Will or Jamie? Yep. Denzel? Nope...he's too old now anyway. Isaiah? Fantastic!
Posted by: Derrick from Philly | 01 November 2010 at 12:34