Dodgers install permanent display honoring former players Burke and Bean

The Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday unveiled a permanent display honoring former players Glenn Burke and Billy Bean, who were the first two major leaguers to say they were gay. A brief ceremony with their families was held on the team's 13th Pride Night, hours before the Dodgers hosted the Los Angeles Angels in the Freeway Series.

The display is located under the left-field pavilion near the Dodgers bullpen.

Against a swirling rainbow painted on the wall are Burke's No. 40 framed jerseys, along with a color photo of Burke's baseball card and a black-and-white shot of him in action. Bean's side of the display features two color photos of him.

Placards describe their careers and contributions. "It's brave of them in this day and age to spotlight someone in our community when other organizations are trying to erase us," said Greg Baker, Bean's husband. The families let out audible "aahs" and applauded as a blue curtain dropped on the display.

"He would be smiling, he would be so happy, he probably would be giving a high-five," said Joyce Burke Henderson of Vallejo, California, one of Burke's three sisters on hand. Burke was the first MLB player to come out as gay, announcing it in 1982 after he retired. He played for the Dodgers and Oakland Athletics from 1976 to 1979.

He and Dodgers teammate Dusty Baker are widely credited with inventing the high-five after they slapped hands on the field in 1977. Burke died at age 42 in 1995 of AIDS complications. Four years later, Bean became the second MLB player to reveal that he was gay.