The high five, as we know it today, is most widely credited to a moment between Los Angeles Dodgers teammates Dusty Baker and Glenn Burke on October 2, 1977, though several rival origin stories exist.

Quick Scoop: Who Created the High Five?

If you’re asking “who created the high five,” the closest thing we have to an origin story is:

  • Dusty Baker + Glenn Burke, Dodgers, 1977
    • Date often cited: October 2, 1977, at Dodger Stadium.
    • Baker hit his 30th home run; as he came to the plate, Burke raised his hand and Baker smacked it — the classic high five.
* This moment is widely treated as the “birth” of the modern high five in sports and pop culture.

From there, the gesture spread quickly through sports (baseball, then basketball) and into everyday life.

Other Claimants and Origin Stories

Historians and journalists have dug into the story and found several competing claims. That’s why you’ll sometimes see arguments online about who really invented it.

1. The Baker–Burke Story (Most Accepted)

  • Dodgers left fielder Dusty Baker and outfielder Glenn Burke are the best-documented origin.
  • A 1977 Dodgers game: Baker hits a home run, Burke throws his hand high, Baker slaps it — and a new gesture is born.
  • ESPN and other outlets have treated this as the canonical story, including a feature and even a documentary segment.

2. The Derek Smith / Louisville Basketball Story

  • At the University of Louisville in the late 1970s, teammates Derek Smith and Wiley Brown also claimed a role.
  • During a 1978–79 practice, Brown went for a low five, Smith said “No, up high,” and they slapped hands overhead.
  • Some Louisville insiders insist this is where the high five in basketball culture really took off, even if it may have appeared in baseball first.

3. The Lamont Sleets Hoax

For years, you might see online that:

“Lamont Sleets invented the high five and spread it through college basketball.”

  • The story: Lamont Sleets supposedly learned it from his dad’s Vietnam unit, the 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry (“The Five”), then popularized it while playing at Murray State.
  • Later investigation revealed this was completely made up by the founders of National High Five Day as a publicity stunt.
  • They literally picked a name off a roster and built a backstory around him.

So if you see Sleets mentioned as the “inventor,” that’s part of an admitted prank, not an actual historical origin.

4. Magic Johnson’s Claim

  • Magic Johnson has said that he and teammate Greg Kelser were doing high fives at Michigan State and that he “invented” it.
  • He doesn’t give a specific date or widely documented first moment, and historians still lean strongly toward the Baker–Burke story because it’s better sourced.

Why Glenn Burke Matters in High Five History

The story of the high five is also deeply tied to Glenn Burke’s life and identity.

  • Glenn Burke was one of the first openly gay professional baseball players (open among teammates, later publicly out).
  • After leaving MLB, he became an icon in San Francisco’s Castro district, where the high five was embraced as a symbol of joy and gay pride.
  • Writers later described the high five as part of his legacy: a simple, physical expression of joy that outlived his short baseball career.

So even though you might casually think of the high five as just a sports celebration, it also carries a cultural and LGBTQ+ history layered into it.

Did Someone “Invent” It, or Did It Just Evolve?

A nuance that historians point out:

  • Humans have been slapping hands in greeting or celebration for a long time; low fives, handshakes, and other gestures existed earlier, especially in African American communities.
  • What seems new in the late 1970s is the codified , overhead, celebratory “high five” we recognize today, anchored to specific moments in pro and college sports.
  • Because of this, many writers say the Baker–Burke moment didn’t invent contact between palms; it defined and popularized this specific style of hand slap.

In other words: people probably did similar things before, but that 1977 Dodgers high five is where the gesture gets a name, a story, and a clear cultural launch point.

Short, SEO-Friendly Answer (For Your Post)

If you’re writing a piece titled “who created the high five,” a concise, accurate core answer could be:

Most historians credit the creation of the modern high five to Los Angeles Dodgers teammates Dusty Baker and Glenn Burke, who slapped raised palms in celebration after Baker’s home run on October 2, 1977. The move quickly spread through sports and pop culture, although later claims from Louisville basketball players and even Magic Johnson show how this simple gesture evolved and was adopted across different teams and communities.

Mini SEO Notes for Your “Quick Scoop” Format

  • Natural focus keyword usage you can weave in:
    • “who created the high five”
    • “origin of the high five”
    • “Dusty Baker and Glenn Burke high five”
  • Example meta-style description (under 160 characters):
    • “Wondering who created the high five? Most credit a 1977 moment between Dodgers teammates Dusty Baker and Glenn Burke, though rival origin stories still spark debate.”

TL;DR: The modern high five is usually credited to Dusty Baker and Glenn Burke of the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1977, even though similar gestures existed before and a few competing stories still circulate.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.