Comcast SportsNet Bay Area debut one hour documentary ‘Out. The Glenn Burke Story’ on Wednesday, November 10 at San Francisco’s Castro Theatre.
Out. The Glenn Burke Story Narrated by Dave Morey, Bay Area Broadcasting Icon and Member of the Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame’s Class of 2010 Network to Host Public Screening at the Castro Theatre on November 10, Special Town-Hall Edition of Chronicle Live to Follow from the Theatre.
Glenn Burke’s journey through baseball began and ended in Oakland, California. His sports career had many stops along the way, starting as a multi-sport star at Berkeley High School, followed by a brief stint at the University of Nevada, Reno as a prized basketball recruit, and then moving into professional baseball with the Los Angeles Dodgers, being hailed by one coach as “the next Willie Mays.” Early in his career, Burke felt he had to hide his true self from his teammates. Later, when he began to reveal glimpses into his sexuality the baseball establishment began to close him out. Out. The Glenn Burke Story, a one-hour commercial-free program that documents Burke’s legacy as the first openly homosexual Major League Baseball player, will premiere on Comcast SportsNet Bay Area on Wednesday, November 10 at 8:00 p.m. PT.
Out. The Glenn Burke Story tells the dramatic tale of Burke’s Major League career as an outfielder for the Dodgers and as a starter in Game One of the 1977 World Series, to being traded to the Oakland Athletics the following season, and then walking away from the game that he deeply loved in 1980. Many of Burke’s teammates were aware of his homosexuality during his playing career, as were members of management. And many of those teammates believe that his sexuality led to the premature derailment of his baseball career.
Out. The Glenn Burke Story explores the wedge that was driven between Burke and the Los Angeles management, the ensuing similar situation in Oakland that led to Burke’s abrupt retirement, and the hero’s welcome that Burke received in San Francisco’s Castro District after he left professional baseball. The documentary follows him through his public announcement of his homosexuality in a 1982 Inside Sports magazine article and on The Today Show with Bryant Gumbel, to his downward spiral after his split from baseball, a split that drove Burke to drugs and prison, and eventually to living on the same San Francisco streets where he was once recognized as an icon.
Burke’s story took on another level of tragedy when he was diagnosed with AIDS in 1994. Yet at the end of Burke’s life, the game that he claimed abandoned him so many years before reached out to one of its own. The A’s found Burke and provided him with constant support in his final months, as did some of his former teammates.
Out. The Glenn Burke Story features numerous interviews with Burke’s teammates and friends, including Dusty Baker, Davey Lopes, Reggie Smith, Rick Monday, Manny Mota, Rickey Henderson, Claudell Washington, Mike Norris, Shooty Babitt, Tito Fuentes, and former Major Leaguer and gay rights activist Billy Bean.
Excerpts from Out. The Glenn Burke Story:
Abdul-Jalil al-Hakim (Childhood friend and sports agent):
On Burke’s homosexuality and the homophobia in Major League Baseball: “It was uncompromising on both ends. Glenn was comfortable with who he was. Baseball was not comfortable with who he was.”
Claudell Washington:
On Oakland Athletics manager Billy Martin introducing Burke to his new teammates in spring training: “He was introducing all the players and then he got to Glenn and said, ‘Oh, by the way, this is Glenn Burke and he’s a faggot.’”
Davey Lopes:
On Burke’s trade to the A’s: “You don’t break up, disrupt a team going as well as it was going to make changes. I didn’t feel it was going to make us a better ball club. Billy North was not going to make us, at that time, any better of a ballclub. Probably not the real reason why things happened.”
Dusty Baker:
On the rumors of Burke’s sexual preference and his trade to the A’s: “I think the Dodgers knew; I think that’s why they traded Glenn.”
Reggie Smith:
On the suspicions on Burke’s sexuality: “I certainly didn’t want to accuse him of that, because one thing’s for sure – at that time period, it was a kiss of death for a ballplayer. He would’ve been excused from the game, so to say.”
Vincent Trahan (Berkeley High School classmate):
On Dodger management and their suspicions: “Al Campanis and Walter O’Malley had called him into the office and offered him $75,000 to get married. And Glenn, being his comic self, said, ‘I guess you mean to a woman?’”
On the Dodgers’ controversial trade of Burke to the A’s: “He was hurt because they traded him not for his baseball ability but for his life choice.”
Lyle Spencer (MLB.com, former Los Angeles Dodgers beat writer):
On the reaction of Burke’s teammates the day he was traded: “I was shocked that he was traded… I walked into the clubhouse…and guys were visibly distraught over the trade, and that told me that my sense of how important he was to them internally was accurate. I even remember a few players crying when they found out about it at their lockers, which is stunning.”
Billy Bean:
On dealing with discrimination: “The closet hurts people – forever. Everyone’s career ends, but to do it because you don’t feel you belong there when you’ve proven that you do is damaging. And it affects everything, and I’m sure that’s why Glenn swam in the waters of drugs and alcohol – to take away his frustration.”
Claudell Washington:
On hearing about Burke contracting AIDS: “I was stunned at that time. A person that I’d known, loved, and respected had contracted an illness like that and was suffering.”
Lutha Davis (Sister):
On AIDS: “A lot of people were scared because I think, at the time, you didn’t know whether you can just breathe on somebody and get AIDS or just touch them.”
Pamela Pitts (Oakland A’s Director of Baseball Administration):
On Burke’s reaction to hearing the A’s would help him: “Glenn started to cry and said, ‘I’ve been told you’re going to help me. I can’t believe someone wants to help me.’”
On Burke’s death: “I do believe he was in a much better place. His demons were gone.”
Ted Griggs, Vice President and General Manager, Comcast SportsNet Bay Area stated, “As an East Bay native, I knew all about Glenn Burke’s legendary athletic feats at Berkeley High. I followed his career with the Dodgers and A’s throughout the late seventies, and watched and read with great interest when he came out on The Today Show with Bryant Gumbel and in Inside Sports Magazine. I was saddened by his tragic death and thought at the time that his was a compelling story that should be told one day. This documentary allows Glenn’s family, friends, and teammates to tell that story, and it is enhanced with the narration of Dave Morey, one of the most respected voices in Bay Area radio.”
Out. The Glenn Burke Story is narrated by Morey, who was recently inducted into the Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame in the class of 2010 after 26 years as a morning host at KFOG and nearly 40 years in broadcasting.
Comcast SportsNet Bay Area will host a public screening of Out. The Glenn Burke Story at the Castro Theatre (429 Castro Street, San Francisco, California) on Wednesday, November 10. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. PT. Admission is $5.00, with proceeds benefiting Marty’s Place. Marty’s Place once provided a homeless Burke with shelter and care as he coped with the effects of AIDS/HIV. Tickets are available at CSNBayArea.com/pages/out. Following the screening, the network will air a special town-hall edition of Chronicle Live from the Castro Theater at approximately 9:15 p.m. PT. Hosted by veteran Bay Area sports announcer Greg Papa, Chronicle Live is a live one-hour program, and will feature an interactive roundtable discussion and debate about homosexuals in professional sports. Additional event details and panelists for Chronicle Live will be announced at a later date.
After the November 10 (8:00 p.m. PT) debut, Out. The Glenn Burke Story replays on Tuesday, November 16 at 8:00 p.m. PT. Visit CSNBayArea.com for additional air dates and times and channel locations for Comcast SportsNet Bay Area.
Out. The Glenn Burke Story is produced by Doug Harris (‘Bounce: The Don Barksdale Story’ and ‘Tournament of Champions: The Legends of Northern California High School Basketball’) and Sean Maddison (‘Orange and Black: San Francisco And The Giants’ and producer of San Jose Sharks hockey on Comcast SportsNet).
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