If you’ve ever wondered who invented the high five, or why we high five, you don’t have to look much further than where they’re most often used... Sports!

According to an ESPN story, on October 2nd, 1977, former L.A. Dodgers Glenn Burke and Dusty Baker invented the high five. As the story goes, Dusty Baker hit a home run and Glenn Burke, who was on-deck waiting to bat next, waited for him as Dusty made his way to home plate. Then rookie, Burke, in his excitement, raised his hands over his head to greet Baker, who slapped it. Baker, 43 years later in 2020 while managing the Cincinnati Reds described it by saying, “His hand was up in the air, and he was arching way back, so I reached up and hit his hand. It seemed like the thing to do.”

Immediately after that, Burke hit a homerun of his own, the first of his Major League Baseball career actually. After rounding the plates, when he returned to the dugout, Baker high-fived him. And that’s how a universally understood gesture of celebration was born.

Dusty Baker would go on to have a 19-year career as a player, winning several awards, including a World Series in 1981. After retiring, he became a manager in 1993. He won another World Series, this time as a manager in 2022. Today, he is currently managing the Nicaraguan national baseball team ahead of the 2026 World Baseball Classic. Let’s see some high-fives flying all around!

Glenn Burke sadly passed away on May 30th, 1995 of AIDS complications, but his legacy will live on forever. He was also the first MLB player to ever come out as gay and on August 2nd, 2013, he was inducted into the National Gay and Lesbian Sports Hall of Fame.